


The Greatest Lesson

by kirichuuus



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Avenger Loki (Marvel), Blood, Canon Divergence - Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Curses, Dom Loki (Marvel), Emotional Hurt, Eventual Smut, F/M, From Sex to Love, Hydra (Marvel), Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Kidnapping, Loki (Marvel) Feels, Loki (Marvel) Needs a Hug, Loki Lives (Marvel), Love Confessions, Non-Consensual Body Modification, Non-Consensual Touching, Parent Tony Stark, Possessive Loki (Marvel), Protective Loki (Marvel), Protective Tony Stark, Rescue Missions, Thanos is mentioned, Tony Stark Has A Heart, True Love, buckystrid if you squint, loki dies but like for 2 seconds, romanrogers if you squint, so does astrid but also like for 2 seconds
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-17
Updated: 2020-10-17
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:01:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 25,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27065296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kirichuuus/pseuds/kirichuuus
Summary: Loki’s heart is almost thawed from the ice that encases it, but yet he is still reluctant to learn the lesson of to love and be loved in return. He is doubtful of Astrid’s apparent affections as she too has not come forth and said anything about it. The thoughts consume Loki even as he and Thor are called upon by Asgardians in Norway to eliminate a looming threat. A powerful, heinous being resides deep within a dark forest; a faithful servant and worshipper of the late Hel. Due to Loki obsessing over the fear of being alone, the being takes advantage…
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Original Female Character(s), Loki (Marvel)/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 15





	1. Afflicted

Soft morning rays of the sun leaked into Loki’s room at the Avengers compound. The prince lay on his side, propped up on one elbow while studying the sleeping woman in his bed. His gaze was tender upon her resting form, admiring her beauty in the growing light. Loki reached out, gently caressing the bare skin of her arm and taking in its softness. The events of last night replayed through the gods mind as he and Astrid were tangled in the throes of passion. He would never tire of the feeling of her lips upon his, her touch, her cries of pleasure, the way his name escapes from those kiss swollen lips, and her adoring gaze she held only for his eyes. Loki sighed softly, continuing to stroke her arm, wishing that this moment would last as long as it could. Astrid had the prince wrapped around her finger; he was absolutely smitten with this mortal woman… But… Did he truly love her? And what of her feelings?

“Loki?” A sleepy voice interrupted his intrusive thoughts and his attention was turned to a now waking Astrid. “Mmn.. What time is it?” She rolled on her back, extending her achy limbs to stretch. The dark haired man gave a dirty chuckle as the blankets fell from her chest and he took the opportunity to lay upon her naked form. “Oof- I’m not awake enough for this.” She muttered, sleep still heavy in her voice.

“Then do not wake yet.” Loki adjusted himself so he wasn’t crushing the poor girl. “Besides, I rather enjoy resting my weary head upon nature’s greatest pillows-” he smirked as he felt Astrid playfully smack his arm and chuckled softly.

“Dummy.” The brunette huffed, but with a smile on her face. Her hands came up, one resting on his back whilst rubbing his bare skin and the other playing with his long dark locks. She felt Loki make a noise akin to purring as it rumbled through his chest into her body. “Mmm.. If you keep doing that, I may never get up.” she felt him smile into her chest and his head nuzzle against her. Astrid continued her movements for a while and the two exchanged a joke here and there just like a couple would… Just like a couple… Loki removed himself off the girl abruptly, his toxic thoughts seeping back into his mind. “Hey, what’s wrong?” Astrid sat up, holding the blanket to her chest and tilting her head in confusion. Loki got up from the bed, not caring about his nude state “Nothing. I just,” He paused thinking of an excuse, “Remembered something I have to do.” the prince exhaled, not realizing he had held his breath. Astrid raised a brow at him, releasing the sheet and getting out of the bed; she knew something was up. He tended to do this sort of thing when they became cuddly and deep within each other’s feelings; but with Astrid not being as guarded as the man. She understood he was not an easy egg to crack, and rarely did he even let anyone get as remotely close to him as she did. Sighing in defeat, the brunette walked over to Loki and wrapped her arms around him, resting her head against his chest. A smile graced her face as she felt his arms return the embrace. 

“Come back to bed with me.” She whispered, closing her eyes. Astrid felt her cheeks become warm as she heard Loki give another dirty chuckle and something hard press against her thigh. “Actually, I find the idea rather intriguing given that _something else_ has just risen to greet the beautiful dawn.” He looked down at the brunette, eyes dark with lust. 

Just as Loki was about to surrender to the temptation of possible morning sex, he shoved Astrid on his bed and threw the covers over her naked body as Thor suddenly appeared in his room. “Will you fucking knock, oaf!?” He waved a hand, using his seidr to dress himself. The blonde man cleared his throat, cheeks pink as he had caught a glimpse of the woman’s body. “I have no use for the door when I can simply teleport here.” He tried not to make eye contact with Astrid and twiddled his thumbs. Loki pinched the bridge of his nose, growling of irritation “Whatever. What is it that you want? I am a little busy at the moment.” 

“If being busy is fornicating with Lady Astrid then I am what I have heard Stark say before… What was it? Oh a cockblock.” Thor proudly smiled to himself and mentally gave himself a pat on the back at Loki’s noise of growing vexation. “I-I’m right here..” Astrid quietly spoke up, peeking out from the sheets at the brothers. 

Thor gave Astrid a wry smile, nodding to her before grabbing Loki’s arm. “Apologies, my lady but I need to speak with my brother in private.” In a flash, the gods were gone and leaving the brunette alone in Loki’s room. Astrid sighed deeply, looking at the empty space that the raven haired prince had previously occupied. _‘I know I agreed to be his, but I can’t help but wonder what he meant by it aside from sex…’_ Her brow turned up in thought. Why couldn’t she just tell him how much she loved him already!? Getting up, Astrid grabbed her clothes off his floor and dressed herself. _‘I don’t want to just be his plaything. I want to be his completely and I want him to be mine. I am growing tired of just sex and meaningless cuddling.’_ She could feel her eyes begin to burn with tears and quickly left his room, not wanting to stew in those thoughts any longer. 

The sound of snapping fingers brought Loki back to attention from his growing worry, and caused him to sneer at Thor. “You will not snap your fingers at me like I am a hound.” he hissed at his brother. “What is wrong with you, brother? This is unbecoming of you.” Thor frowned, puzzled at how Loki was so.. Distracted. The god of mischief was not having it. He would not let Thor pry any potential controversies from his thoughts. “There are a plethora of ‘things’ wrong with me, Thor. Where would you like to start first? My wretched birth? Walking in your shadow all of my life? That man I called father-” 

“Enough! He was your father just as much as he was mine. Blood or otherwise, I will not have you disgrace our father’s name. You would not do such with our mother, would you?” The blonde saw his younger brother’s nostrils flare in anger. “No. I would not.” Loki replied quietly, not wanting to picture the thought of disappointing his mother once again. He still blamed her death on himself. If only he hadn’t lashed out in wounded false pride, if only he hadn’t told the dark elf to turn in that direction… Maybe she would still be here. “Lady Sif has made contact and has informed me of an issue that we are to take care of straight away. She will be joining us as this issue is rather difficult.” Thor’s tone darkened, his gaze serious. Loki narrowed his eyes, “If it has anything to do with Thanos, then by all means count me out. We agreed to keep me in hiding until the opportune moment. Have Strange go with you if you are in need of magick.” He scoffed, folding his arms over his broad chest. Thor ran a large hand over his face, sighing in frustration “That is exactly why we need _you_ , Loki. This is ancient Norse magick we are dealing with. This is completely out of the Doctor’s range, believe me, I have even contacted him and asked for his assistance.” The blonde’s expression was grim. This changed things… Loki turned his gaze to the floor and began to pace, pondering about how limited the knowledge of ancient Norse magick was. This type of practice was extremely difficult to come by, let alone learn even for someone like Loki. He had an idea of what issue they were going to deal with, but it was one that he was not looking forward to. “It is a Völva isn’t it?” His gaze returned back on Thor’s as his older brother nodded. “Which is why we need your expertise.” The blonde added. 

Loki shook his head, baffled. “I don’t understand.” He waved his hand, transporting them both back to his room and into his study. Hastily, Loki skimmed his vast wall of books in desperation. "I am aware there are still practitioners of our magicks, but I was under the impression that the ancient scripts were lost through time.“ His long, pale fingers continued to run along many book spines. "That is what I also assumed. Apparently this Völva is one from our realm. Lady Sif did not mention any specific details about this dark shaman other than they are a devout servant and worship Hel.” Thor’s words made Loki stop in his tracks and his blood run cold. He turned to face his brother with concern, “Thor. We have to leave **_NOW_**.” He abandoned his search, his appearance changing into his armor. Taking this as his que, Thor followed a very anxious Loki from his quarters to outside of the compound. Speaking in their mother tongue, the raven haired god flexed his fingers and cast a portal spell. Thor did not have to tell Loki where they were needed as he knew his younger brother’s intuition was strong. 

“Oh Norns, thank goodness you’re here.” Sif approached the brothers as they had arrived in a back alley. “Sif are you aware of what we are dealing with?” Loki’s face was stern, jaw clenched. The Asgardian woman nodded, shifting a bit in discomfort as she still was weary of the Trickster. However, in order to stop this evil force, she would have to put her distrust and dislike of him if they are to succeed. “I am aware that we are fighting a witch, yes. A very powerful one.” She rose her brows, waiting for a response. “It is a lot worse than what you anticipated, my lady. Well, I mean by how Loki reacted when I told him that this witch is a faithful worshipper of Hel.” “Shaman. Not a witch. In any case, there were not many types of these shamans. I studied them while practicing magick with mother and I know what this one is capable of. This particular shaman is named Sissel the eyeless and she is one, if not the only, of the visions of Hel. She has devoted her entire existence to our dear late sister in preparation of Ragnarok. How she managed to survive is unbeknownst to my knowledge.” Thor and Sif looked to each other as Loki explained in depth what they were going up against. “So then you know of ancient magick? You said you have practiced?” Sif questioned. The raven haired prince sighed, nodding, “I only know how to perform a few of the ancient spells, but otherwise I am aware of what they are and what could happen. It was not easy to acquire nor master, now enough chattering. We have to find Sissel before she grows too powerful for us to take her down or, Norns forbid, Thanos find her.” 

Hearing the chance that Thanos may stumble upon her and put her ancient power to use, the three Asgardians made haste as they entered the eerie, dense forest behind the peaceful, quiet town. While on the way, Thor turned to look at Loki and noticed the same look from earlier of him deep in thought. He parted his lips to mention it, but decided against it as now was not the time to be questioning Loki about whatever he was pondering about. The god of thunder just assumed it could be about Astrid and pushed it to the back of his mind; suddenly having his attention brought to the strong urge to turn back and run. “Do not run. It is what she wants you to do and it will give her an attack of opportunity. Just because she is blind does not mean she cannot see through other ways.” Loki warned, crouching with the other two behind a fallen tree. Silently, they stared into the odd rapid growing darkness, making each tree it touched wither away and rot. Sif began to cough, fighting the urge to throw up from the overwhelming stench of decomposing flesh that came with the impending darkness. Thor and Loki began to gag as well, their stomachs gurgling audibly and threatening to reject the contents attempting to digest. 

A sharp, yet raspy laugh permeated through the forest. “Oh.. Oh how wonderful. It has been so long since I have had… Royal company.” The raspy voice of Sissel croaked. Out of a pool of shadow, a skeletal frame rose from the ground; long bits of severely damaged moldy hair hanging from the hood that concealed the shaman’s malnourished face. Her skin was a sickly grey, with all sorts of festering open wounds to go with. “No use hiding now.” Thor muttered, finally able to breathe thanks to a simple spell Loki cast on the three of them. “State your being here, hag!” Lightning struck down towards the zombie like woman, but seemed to only pass through her lithe body. “Ahhh Odinson… And… The rightful King of Jotunheim…” She chuckled to herself, “The bargaining chip as Odin thought of you.” Her cracked yellow teeth gleamed with her black gums. Loki’s nostrils flared and he almost lunged forth at the shaman, but Thor’s grip held him back. “The last.. Of the warriors three.. How sad… Fandral and the other fool Hogun were not worthy enough to be killed by my Master.” She cracked her long, rotted fingers and continued to taunt the three with that disgusting grin plastered to her skeletal face. “I tire of your useless jeers. Save your energy for when we strike you down. If you are as powerful as history tells, then I intend to enjoy this battle thoroughly.” Thor held his free hand out, Mjolnir soon in his grasp. 

Sissel’s cold, deathly cackle echoed through the dense wood as dark tendrils shot out of no where in an attempt to grab onto the Asgardians. She sauntered forward, pulling her hood back and fully revealing how horrific she truly appeared. Her face was gaunt, cheeks sunken, half of her nose rotted, her lips all but angry blisters and decomposing skin, and those holes… The never ending black holes of where her eyes should be still were able to pierce through one’s soul. Sif clapped a hand over her own mouth, again resisting the strong desire to puke. “You are an abomination to the living world, hag!!” Thor spat, charging forth with reckless abandon. “Thor, no!” Loki tried to grab his brother but to no use. Leaping into the air, Thor held Mjolnir high and sent bolt after bolt of lighting ripping down from the sky onto the Shaman. “Yes! Yes! … Such untapped rage… Perfect.” Sissel hacked, drawing one of her claw like hands back as one bolt managed to pierce through, but not wound badly. While she effortlessly dodged another bolt, Sif came from behind and lunged at the creature. A chilled hand grabbed Sif’s arm, throwing her across the clearing that Sissel had made. The warrior’s eyes widened in terror as the decomposed bodies of Hogun and Fandral limped toward her, their expressions dead as were the rest of their bodies. “HOW DARE YOU!! USING OUR DEPARTED FRIENDS AS A MEAN TO FIGHT AGAINST US!” Thor’s voice roared with hatred toward the shaman. Sissel nodded her head gently, “The power… of Necromancy.. is.. a wonderful.. thing..” her skeletal arms rose to the blackened, thundering sky. She began to chant in the ancient language that Loki had mentioned earlier and the bones of corpses long forgotten began to rise from the ground. 

Loki clenched his jaw, looking back and forth at his brother and Sif. This was not good at all, he knew what she was doing and he could not let her get him next. The Trickster vanished into the air, his snake form slithering into the foliage before duplicating himself and slithering back to the battle. He had given instructions to the clone to lay low until his signal to strike the eyeless shaman down. He turned himself back to his Aesir form and multiplied himself to create an illusion. Thor and Sif were of no match to this abomination and Loki would have to face this being head on himself. “Yesss.. My king… The fallen son… Shall I kiss your feet now?” Sissel opened her arms, baring a psychotic grin. “You are mistaken… if you think you… can trick me..” She flicked her left hand, thousands of sharpened bones flying at the illusions. Loki growled out in pain as two of these bone spears impaled his shoulder and thigh. She flicked her wrist once more, the dark tendrils returning and grappling the other two. The raven haired prince ripped out the spears, his attention then brought to thor and Sif being constricted by the tendrils. “They are not part of this! You will let them go and deal with me!” Loki shouted, summoning his daggers. Sissel only cackled, her appearance changing all of a sudden into a much younger, beautiful, fuller version of herself. Her skin was still a sickly white as was her hair, but she was no longer covered in sores, her robes fit over her curves, and a blindfold wrapped over her freshly plucked eyes. “Mmm.. Yes this energy! I feel alive again…” Her voice was no longer that of an old hags and she turned her head up in Loki’s direction. “Do you like this, King Loki?” She hoisted her skirts up, showing off her naked bottom half. “Enough!” the god shadow stepped behind her, his daggers clashing with a bone axe of her own. Her blood red lips parted into a smile, showing healthy looking gums and teeth. “You better hurry, the longer you fight me, the more of their life force I take. I would be more than happy to become what I used to be though~” She pulled away, swinging the axe and through energy, she could see Loki’s outline and his movements. 

“My, my you certainly are a fast one. Not bad for a Jotun runt!” Her axe came down on already wounded shoulder, lodging itself in. “Rrrrrrrgghhhh!!” Loki’s teeth gnashed together before he flashed a wicked grin of his own and vanished. A hand grabbed Sissel’s floating hair and yanked it, pulling her to the ground. Her hair cut itself as she flipped backwards, holding her hand out and casting the previous re-animated bones towards Loki. The prince dodged most of the bones with his flexibility, getting whacked a few times by some of the lesser avoidable ones. His hand grabbed a handful of dirt and he tossed it in her direction, creating thick black smoke. “I can still see you! There is no where to hide! Surrender to me and I just might use your skull as my crown!!” Sissel grinned, then feeling a wire wrap around her ankles. Loki yanked the whip he made, twirling her around as her axe cut the tendrils that held Sif and Thor. His clone informed him earlier that he could not get them to break and would most likely have to use the Axe she held. The shaman swung her axe down on the wip, skidding across the ground and lifting her head up in Loki’s direction once again. “Smart! I think I like you!!” She giggled, not caring if her body began to return to it’s current state. Sissel took a deep breath in, then releasing a blood curdling scream. Her spirit form held her claws out, grabbing Loki and rooting him in his place with pure fear. A tendril now constricted around his body, healing Sissel’s rotting flesh. Her hips sway as she walked forth to a trapped Loki and she caressed his face with a long, claw. “Mmm.. You are quite handsome. Such sharp cheek bones…” She pressed her body to him, a long black tongue licking up the side of his cheek. “Oh yes, I think I will indeed keep you. It does get terribly lonely out here and I could use a handsome Jotun male to test on..” She began to laugh at Loki’s expression before she gasped loudly. 

Looking down, one of her sharpened bones from earlier had pierced through where her unbeating heart was. “NOW!!” Loki choked out as best he could. The clone from earlier grabbed the Axe she once had and swung it down, severing her left arm off and vanishing at the sound of her ear shattering screech. The tendril that once held Loki quickly vanished but there was a burning sensation that traveled up Loki’s right arm. He looked down and saw the rotting claw clenching his bare forearm, his sleeve had decayed from her touch. That sickly scent returned with full force up Loki’s nose, resulting him to cough and violently wretch all over Sissel’s current form. Her raspy voice croaked, “You.. This curse… It is too simple… But… should.. this blight consume your heart… you will be mine… The only thing.. that can… save you… is your fear…. and.. have that fear… ” The fiery feeling vanished along with Sissel’s body, the sentence unfinished and sending the Trickster into a horrible anxiety attack. 

Loki glanced at his shaky hand, his eyes widening at the spreading black blight on his palm. He could not let anyone else see this. In a panic, dressings wrapped around his arm and covered his hand. His eyes closed, he had to steady his breath and not bring suspicion.. Standing up, Loki winced at the pain in his thigh from being impaled. “What… What the fuck was that!?” Thor groaned as he regained consciousness, getting up with some difficulty. “Is the hag dead?” Thor limped over to an unconscious Sif, lifting her body in his arms and staggering over to Loki. “Yes.” his answer came out cool. The blonde frowned and opened his mouth but noticed that just Loki’s right arm was bandaged up. “I-It’s nothing… Let’s just get back and report to Rogers. I am certain he will want to hear of this.” The younger prince answered the unspoken question. The god of thunder shrugged, walking through the portal that Loki had made using the last of his energy. The Trickster stood there for a moment, the words of Sissel repeating in his head as he flexed his hand. “Yeah, it’s nothing… Just some silly old trick.” 


	2. Suffer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now afflicted with a curse that could kill him, Loki becomes paranoid about everything and anything as the blight consumes the flesh of his right arm. Not only does this aberration feel as if it is burning his skin, but it also reminds him of the torture that Thanos had put him through. He is aware that he cannot run from his predicament, nor hide it from everyone and he will have to explain himself soon. While desperately attempting to figure out what this fear is, Loki acts rather rash…

Loki was no stranger to a night of unrest, in fact he was more than used to it considering how vivid and violent his nightmares were. However, this night was a bit different from what the prince was sadly familiar with. 

“Rrrrrgh..” He sat on the edge of his bed, sweat dripping down his face as his teeth clenched and his left hand gripping his right arm. The pain of this blight that dark shaman was almost unbearable, even for a god. He had been pretty good for keeping this issue of his to himself, but not for long. Loki could only watch in horror as the aroma of burning flesh crawled into his nostrils; the curse crawling through his palm to the back of his hand. His body was shaking from agony as it felt like his arm had been dipped in the most potent of oils and slowly roasted over the licking flames from Helheim itself. The Trickster’s stubborn pride would not allow him to cry for help or at least alert anyone he was suffering. He had always been like this; afraid to ask for help as he had always been rejected most of the time. This was not the fear that Sissel had spoken of just a week ago, as the blight proceeded to cover his entire palm and boil slowly over the back of his hand. He thought that perhaps over time, this was all just some sort of sick joke and the festering blister would vanish… 

“Hurts, doesn’t it? Almost like what we did to you.” A deep laugh surrounded Loki’s quarters, causing the prince to release his arm and summon a dagger. 

“Too bad I didn’t have you around long enough to finish the job. I knew you were good for nothing.” Thanos appeared from the darkness, looming over Loki. Invisible hands lashed out, grabbing onto the specific spots where the Mad Titan had scorched the princes pale flesh. It took all of his might not to scream at the staggering burn of these said hands. An immense pressure formed around Loki’s neck and began to choke the god. “You are _nothing_.” Thanos hissed, his laugh booming through the walls. 

“BROTHER!!” A strong grip on Loki’s shoulders caused him to gasp loudly and tense up. Through the tears, the dark prince made out the large, muscular form of Thor and managed to calm himself down slightly; albeit, his arm still pulsing with pain. “You are lucky I did not stab you.” He tried to grin, but it quickly fell once he noticed that his older brother was not in a playful mood. “Loki, you were screaming at the top of your lungs like-” Thor paused, his lips pursed at where this was going. “Never mind, the point being is-” He stopped again and his brow furrowed when he caught the sight of Loki’s hand. The blonde grabbed his brother’s arm before he could tug it away, apologizing as the younger hissed. “What… What is this?” Blue eyes gazed up into tired blue-greens. Loki breathed in deeply and exhaled quite loudly through his nose, no use hiding it now. “A curse. Sissel dug her putrid claws into my arm before she withered away… All I know of is that this curse cannot be lifted until I figure out what my true fear is and conquer it. Well, that is what I am assuming as she never did finish her sentence.” Loki scoffed. Thor’s brow raised and he released Loki’s arm, scratching his beard as he pondered to himself. “We could start brainstorming ideas and end this- whatever it is, quickly so you do not wake the entire compound.” His broad shoulders shrugged and noticed a look of panic on the other mans face. 

“Fine. I do not care if we do that, but you must not tell _anyone_ of what is happening to me…. Especially Astrid.” Loki glanced away, his tone becoming soft as he spoke her name. Thor parted his lips to comment about how unfair that would be to her considering how close they are, but decided to keep that to himself. “Alright. It’s settled then… Just try to get some rest, ok?” The elder brother patted Loki’s left shoulder before exiting his room, leaving the man with his thoughts. “I cannot let her see me like this…” 

—–

“What’s up with righty? Jerked off too much?” Tony grinned while he poured his coffee in a mug and nodded to the god’s bandaged hand. Loki turned his sleep deprived eyes to the Billionaire and growled softly, “I am not in the mood, Stark.” He reached up with his left hand and massaged his eyes gently. Now this was odd… Normally Loki would respond with something along the lines of: ‘Why do I need to pleasure myself when your daughter already does that for me?’. Tony could tell something about him was off. “Don’t take this as a sign that I care; because I don’t. Are you like,” He motioned his finger in a circular motion to his head “Not there? I know you’re bat shit crazy but should I alert everyone and lock you up? I’d rather not start my morning off with a psychotic, twisted version of Houdini.” The Billionaire sipped his coffee, his brow raised. Loki turned to Tony, leering at him in disgust “Do you ever shut up? Or are you incapable of actually doing that? Perhaps you should invent some wires to-” Both men turned their attention to Natasha who slammed her cup down on the coffee table, lips pursed. 

The Black widow cleared her throat, standing up and making her way over to the two bickering males. “Do you two ever stop antagonizing each other? Please, grow up and be civil. There is only so much that the rest of us can handle.” She shot both of the men a glare and made her way over to refill her cup. Tony’s jaw fell open as he pointed to Loki, attempting to put the blame on him first before the red headed woman held up her hand. “No! I do not want to hear it! For Christ sake. It’s amazing how Pepper can put up with your bullshit.” She turned her attention to the raven haired prince, “Don’t think you’re innocent because you’re just as much guilty. I’m going to with hold the comment I had for you out of trying to earn your respect.” She huffed, walking out of the kitchen and taking her place by Wanda. “Honestly, they’re worse than two white middle aged women in a grocery store!” Natasha rolled her eyes, taking a sip of the hot liquid. The Scarlett Witch nodded in agreement, chuckling at the picture in her head. “Yeah, it really seems to be that way, huh? Hm? Oh Astrid! Come sit with us!” Wanda beamed, waving to the girl. 

Astrid returned the greeting and nodded as a signal she’d be with them in a bit. When her gaze landed on Loki, a chill ran down her spine… His energy was _very_ off. “Hey.” She sat next to the god, gently placing a hand on his back only to have him jerk away. Tony noticed Loki’s movements and set his mug down, creeping over to a distance where he could intervene. “Loki? Are you alright?” Astrid’s brow knit together as she tried to gently push some hair from his face. Without warning, Loki smacked her hand away with his blighted arm and hissed as pain shot up through his veins. “Alright asshole, that’s it.” The teal eyed woman turned her attention to the voice that spoke, seeing a very angry Tony. At that point, everyone stood up and maneuvered over to where Tony had grabbed the front of Loki’s shirt and standing protectively in front of Astrid. “You really do not want to do this, Stark.” The god chuckled dryly, grinning. Tony cracked his neck and tightened his grip, “Oh yeah? You laid a hand on my daughter! Why the fuck wouldn’t I?!” He yelled. “I have done more than just lay my hands upon your daughter. I have fucked her into-” “Stop it!! Both of you!” Astrid interjected, trying to get between them but to no avail. 

This wasn’t her Loki… No, something was wrong. He would have leaned into her touch and perhaps even nuzzled against her with eyes watching the both of them. Astrid turned her attention to Loki’s hand and noticed it was wrapped up. She assumed that he had sustained that injury from his latest mission, but something was telling her otherwise. “Stark, Brother please. Cease this needless foolery.” Thor sighed deeply as he walked into the room, pulling the men apart and giving Loki a knowing look. “What?! You’re gonna let that son of a bitch walk away after he hit my daughter!?” “I did NOT hit her-” Loki attempted to defend himself but was silenced by another stern look from Thor. His nostrils flared out of anger and the Trickster stormed off in the direction of his room, Astrid on his heels. Honey brown eyes widened at the sight, “Kid!! No do not!! Urgh, fuck.” Tony dragged a hand down his face and groaned. “She’s an adult…. JARVIS, record in Rock of Ages room. If anything starts to get sticky, please alert me and the rest of the Avengers.” 

“Why!? Why have you followed me!?” Loki spun around, his bloodshot eyes glazed with malicious intent. His expression soon fell as he grabbed his forsaken arm, yelping in pain. The god leaned against the wall of the hallway for support as the ability to stand was impossible at the moment. “Loki!!” The brunette gently helped him sink down to the floor, her small hands getting to work by checking his vitals. Astrid was not too familiar with Asgardian or Jotun anatomy, but it couldn’t be dissimilar to a humans, yeah? There were plenty of times where she had laid her head against Loki’s chest and listened to his heart beat. It was a strange sound, not anything like a humans, but it was a heart beat none the less. “Your pulse is through the roof.” She muttered to herself before turning his face to hers. “I-I don’t know what’s happening right now, but I need you to try to breathe for me. In and out-” She mocked the actions she instructed him to do. 

“Oh… She is a pretty one, isn’t she?” Thanos appeared behind Astrid, one of his large hands grabbing her hair and inhaling her scent. “A good breeding bitch.” 

“NO!!” Loki growled out, still clutching his arm tightly, feeling the blight spread over his fingers and burn the living tissue. His gaze shot down at his trembling hand, his blood pounding in his ears and flashbacks of the torture he went through blinding him. He gasped as he heard screams that were not of his own, but Astrid’s. His heart was caught in his throat as he witnessed her being used as Thanos had put it so eloquently. Loki tried to scream, to beg the creatures and the mad Titan to stop; that they’ll kill her, but his lips were sewn shut. The pain in his right arm advanced immensely, the blight now eating his wrist. A sharp pressure latched onto his sharp jaw and turned his focus back on the horrific scene before him. “Do you love this mortal?” Odin’s blue eye gleamed with disdain. “Here I concluded you could not be more of a disappointment, but yet here you are… Proving yourself to me again.” Tears rolled down Loki’s cheeks and his head bowed, he just wanted to die at this point. However, the calming soft scent of roses filled his nose… 

There was a gentle light that embraced his form, but his lips were still tied shut. Loki leaned into the touch of a familiar hand, his tears not ceasing for a minute. “My beautiful boy…” Frigga’s voice was soft, her own blue eyes shedding tears. “I have banished the demons for now, but until you undo the curse on you, there is nothing more I can do. I know what you have to do but I cannot tell you..” A graceful smile spread on her face as she kissed his forehead, the wires that held his mouth shut disappearing. “Seek the truth, my darling son. That is all I can tell you…” Her touch started to fade, causing Loki to sob and fall forward. “Mother!! Mother please do not leave me here! I do not belong here, please take me with you!” The prince reached out, grabbing at Frigga’s hand only to have it fall through. “Please!! I am begging you! I understand the wrong I have done, I understand everything now! I understand that I do not belong here! You were the only one who gave me the love I have always wanted. Mother, please do not go!” He gasped, his sobs still loud. The golden woman smiled one last time down at her son, shaking her head. “You know I am always with you, my son. There is still much this world has to offer and you would be surprised just how much once you seek deep within your heart. I love you, my darling Loki.” Frigga vanished from his sight, causing Loki to slump forward onto something firm yet soft. “Mother…” he muttered softly before falling into a deep sleep. 

Astrid sat still, holding an unconscious Loki in her arms as some of the Avengers watched with confusion. “He’s breathing.” Astrid swallowed, looking up at Thor with tears shimmering in her eyes. Her hand came to rest upon his back as she rubbed it up and down as she always has done for him. Tony let out a sigh and grunt, stomping down to his lab. “What would your mother think…” He grabbed a pen and began to chew the end of it, whilst looking at a picture of Elaine he kept in his wallet. 

There was a curious chirp from Kovu as he investigated Loki’s slumped form. ‘Sheesh… Yikes. Mr. Magic man looks like he’s been to hell and back. I’ll lay off ‘em for a while- Huh?’ His pupil grew large as he squeezed himself between Astrid and the wall, sniffing at the dressings around Loki’s hand. He looked up at his mom, meowing in concern. “I know, Kovu…” She turned her attention to Thor as he was now the only one in the hall with them. Thor nodded and scooped Loki up, taking him back to his quarters and gently setting him down on the bed. Kovu hopped on Loki’s stomach and walked up to his right arm, gently nudging it with his paw and meowing wildly at Astrid. The blonde was caught off guard and shook his head, “Lady Astrid do not unwrap-” It was too late. The brunette covered her mouth, her eyes wide with horror at the state Loki’s hand and now forearm were in. Astrid gulped, feeling tears roll down her cheeks as she looked at the older brother, “Th-Thor… What’s happened to him?” 


	3. Mistake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frigga has done what she could to ease the burden that her beloved son carries. Now in a state of unconsciousness, Loki rests upon his bed and is being allowed rest for the first time in a week. Unfortunately, Astrid has now seen his arm…
> 
> !!!! PLEASE PROCEED WITH CAUTION AS THERE ARE UNCOMFORTABLE ELEMENTS INVOLVING SEXUAL ASSAULT!!!!

Astrid was at a loss for words at what she was seeing. A mix of emotions swirled through her: confusion, heartbreak, anger, hurt, care, backstabbed… “Thor why didn’t he say anything to anyone? Wh-What is wrong with him!? Tell me, please!!” She looked up at the blonde, her chest rising and falling quickly. Thor noticed her small frame trembling and her hand upon Loki’s cursed arm. He pursed his lips for a moment, looking at his brothers face then to Astrid. “He did not want anyone to know of his predicament. Only I knew-”

“Then why hide it from me!?” She knew it was selfish to say this, but the brunette could not help but feel upset by this. “He asked that no one find out… But especially you.” He looked away from the young woman. Astrid felt as though time stopped, her breath caught in her throat. This is something she hated that Loki did; hide his problems. He never let anyone in and while she was more successful at such a feat, his walls would not come down. “He is cursed.” Astrid looks up at Thor, her attention brought back by his words. “What… What do you mean he’s cursed?” She shook her head, brows knit together. “Hasn’t his entire life been a curse? That’s how he thinks it’s been.” She made her way over to the other side of the bed, Loki’s curse free side. Oh Norns… Thor let out a little growl at her comment. He did not want her to drag that into this.

“Lady Astrid, you need to understand something about my brother and I.” His voice became a little more stern. The brunette gently grabbed Loki, pulling him up onto her chest to hold him. “Shhh… Everything’s alright..” Astrid ran her fingers through the Tricksters long dark locks as he gave a small whimper. Her soft lips gently pressed a kiss into his hair before she turned her attention back to Thor. “I thought the world of my brother. I still do. No matter how many times we may have been on different sides and had opposite views, I still love him. He is my younger brother and I respect his wishes.” He sighed, rubbing his chin. No, this did not sit right with the mortal girl. Her hold on the man she loved with all of her heart tightened in a protective manner. How could he say such a thing when he was one of the reasons for Loki’s pain? Astrid knew she wasn’t there from the beginning, but from the information she gathered, this sounded like complete bullshit. “Then why? Why didn’t you help him? He is hated by everyone and wrongfully so! What would you-” the brunette flinched as Thor shot her a menacing glare. “What would I know!? You act like I was never there to see him suffer!! You know nothing! Perhaps my father was right about mortals.. So petty and tiny….”

SMACK!!

Thor did not even see Astrid get up but certainly felt the sting of her hand. He turned to yell at her, but saw tears running down her cheeks yet again… A different, yet similar kind of hurt lingering in her eyes; one very familiar when Odin practically ignored Loki. “That’s the problem!!” Her shoulders trembled and chest rising quickly again. “How would y-you know what it’s like to be hated by your own father!? To have no one but your mother only for her to be taken away from you, murdered in front of you by your own father!?” Astrid gasped out. Thor opened his mouth to speak but the girl was not done. “Has your father ever locked you up? Has your father ever kept you like a bird in a cage? Has your father ever cut you open for experiments only to say it was a failure and then beat the shit out of you!? Saying it was all your fault!?” Her lower lip quivered and she swallowed, trying to catch her breath. Astrid suddenly yanked her shirt up, showing Thor a large scar that stretched across her lower abdomen. He was in shock and hadn’t the slightest clue just how similar the mortal girl was to Loki. Granted, Odin never beat his younger brother per say, but he was locked away from time to time. “Lady Astrid, I apologize for my words. I did not know-” he shut his mouth once more.

The brunette shook her head, settling back down and scooping Loki’s large frame again to her own smaller body. “No one was there for me and no one was there for him.” Astrid was trying not to sob again, her heart aching. “Please, just… Go. I don’t want to see you right now. I’ll call if he wakes up.” She turned her gaze back on Loki, tucking some stray hairs from his face. Thor took a deep breath in, and bit his tongue saying nothing as he left. Once outside of Loki’s quarters, Thor hastily made his way out to the gym. He figured that training would be a good way to let off some steam.

“You seem tense.” Steve walked over, expressing concern for the god of thunder. Thor chewed the inside of his cheek, nodding before punching a hole right through one of the training dummies. “Tense is not the word I would use.” He said under his breath, clenching his jaw. The Captain cautiously placed a gentle hand on Thor’s muscular shoulder and nodded toward the sparring arena. “Talk to me, big guy. We’re all a team here and we can’t let anything get to us too personally, especially with Thanos being a constant threat.” He removed his hand as he felt Thor flex slightly. Taking a deep breath and sighing through his nose, the blonde god followed Steve. “That is exactly the issue at hand though. It is concerning my brother and lady Astrid. So it is quite personal.” Thor scoffed and began to stretch in preperation for training. Mimicking the god, Steve also began to stretch his limbs. “She just flat out insulted my father’s name and basically insinuated that I was never there for Loki. Granted, when we were children my father would shine more praise and attention upon me; where as my mother did so with Loki….” His stature suddenly fell, causing him to sit on the floor and ponder. That was right, Loki did always walk in Thor’s shadow and rarely did Odin ever give him a chance to prove himself. He also remembered how badly his younger brother wanted Odin’s attention, so desperately seeking his approval. Because of how his father treated the young Trickster, an invisible wall built around Loki. That is why he was always rather cold at times or doing tricks that would get him in trouble, just for a bit of the spotlight. “Have you reached an epiphany? I know it isn’t my place to comment considering this is not my situation, but if I may?” Steve raised his brows, Thor giving a nod to continue. “Thank you, kindly. Now, no offense but I’m still weary of Loki. I’m sure everyone is aside from Astrid and yourself. I think it would do some good to try and incorporate him into exercises, at a slow rate; I don’t want to scare him off. Stark can be a mega jerk and in my opinion, he is way too harsh on Loki but I think it’s a mixture of what happened in 2012; and the fact his daughter is smitten with him. He’s a dad as much as he doesn’t want to admit it.” Steve paused and gave a wry smile to the god of thunder who chuckled at the last bit. “Stark is very eccentric and does remind me of my brother in ways. I do not doubt if he heard me say that he would be kicking my ass.” Thor chuckled again, smiling a bit more as he gets a laugh out of Steve.

“I know I’m getting off track here, but I think what’s happening here is that Astrid truly sees the good in Loki and relates to him very much. I’ve known her for a while and oh boy,” the captain licked his lips and whistled, “Her biological father, Rudolph, is a piece of work. Unfortunately, he is still on the run and a high up in HYDRA but I’ll tell you that man gives me the creeps.” He gives a shudder and clears his throat, “Now don’t take this as offense, but some constructive advice. From the way I see things, I think you might be a bit jealous at how close Astrid is to your brother. Again, no offense.” Steve holds a hand up. “None taken. I am listening with full intent, Brother Steve.” Thor flashed a genuine smile. “That’s what I like to hear, soldier. My point is-” Steve was suddenly caught off guard as JARVIS began to give a message.

“Captain Rogers and Point Break,”

Thor growled in annoyance at the nickname.

“Hostile activity has been detected in Loki’s room and your action is required immediately.”

The two men looked at each other in horror, hoisting themselves off the floor and bolting out of the sparring area. What the hell has he done!?

——–

-After Thor walked out-

Sniffling, Astrid set Loki back down gently and rested his head comfortably against his pillow. Her teary, teal eyes gazed upon his resting form while her slender fingers caressed his cheekbone. “Why didn’t you tell me?” She lay next to him, curling into his body. Astrid knew he couldn’t hear her at the moment since he was out cold, but she figured it would help her at least to let some stress out. “Why keep this a secret from me when I want to help you?” She felt her eyes burn again. The brunette was sick of crying and she felt like that was all she could ever do was cry. “Oh Loki…” She sat up, lip quivering. Her hand went to his hair, stroking it back as she wept yet again. “It hurts me to see you in pain. I just wish you… I just wish you would let me in and help you.” Her voice quivered and she placed her free hand over where his heart is. She took in a shaky breath, finding some comfort in the tempo of his heartbeat. “I want to be yours… Not just by sleeping with you. If only I had the courage to tell you h-how I feel. But I’m sure that I’m just some silly little human girl to you… Why would someone like you ever-” Astrid was cut off and was suddenly beneath Loki. The look in his eyes was not of his own but the one from when he was a man under Thanos control. Her heart raced wildly and tears of sadness were replaced by fear. There was hatred in his gaze.

“Do NOT speak.” He snapped at the girl, grabbing both of her wrists and tying them tightly together. Loki froze as he noticed the bandages around his arm had been unwrapped. His jaw clenched and he turned to Astrid, “I thought I told that oaf not to let you see this.” He jerked his arm to emphasize. The brunette was frightened and did not know where this rage was coming from. “I-I was only trying to help-” “SILENCE!!” Loki growled, tightening the tie around the womans wrists tighter and causing her to squeal out in pain. “This is my burden to bear. I do not need some silly little midgardian to meddle herself in to "help me” what can you do to help? Cry? Hold me like a child?“ The more the prince spoke, the more Astrid’s heart beat faster. She shook her head, feeling hurt by his words aside from the tie around her wrists. "Loki stop it! You’re scaring me! Please stop!!” She begged, never once looking away from his stare. A wicked grin cracked across the Tricksters pale face and a deep chuckle vibrated through his chest. “You think I care? You think just because you warm my bed at night I care? You think because I fuck you with an intimate raw passion that I care? You are mine but only as a whore… In fact..” his lust blown eyes traveled down her body and back up to the frightened girls. “P-Please don’t do this. Please. Loki come back, this isn’t you. Don’t do to this.” Her begs were heard upon deaf ears and her eyes quickly shut as the front of her shirt was torn open. “This is all you are good for, a quick fuck.” His hand crept up her skirt, yanking her panties down and shoving her skirt up.

——–

-Present-

An intense force sent Loki tumbling to the ground followed by a cracking noise. Pain shot through the gods face as he felt his nose break. “YOU ARE DONE!!” Tony landed another blow before beginning to wrestle with the Trickster, who began to fight back. “I WARNED YOU!! I TOLD YOU!!” He growled, headbutting Loki.

A pair of strong arms scooped a shaken Astrid up off Loki’s bed. “It’s alright. I’ve got you, doll.” Bucky shifted the brunette girl in his arms before quickly making his way out. “Thanks, Buck. Take her to Bruce down to his lab. Wanda and Tash are waiting for her.” Steve nodded at his bestfriend, giving a sympathetic look to a sobbing Astrid. “K-Kovu-” she whimpered. “He’s ok, I made sure he went to the lab and not where all the tussling is happening.” Bucky reassured her, picking up his pace to the lab.

Thunder shook the exterior of the compound as Thor ripped Tony off of his brother, holding Loki by the throat. “YOU THINK TAKING YOUR AGONY OUT ON A DEFENSELESS WOMAN IS APPROPRIATE!?” The blonde gods face was inches from the Tricksters. From behind, Tony wiped his bloody lip and nodded at Steve who then slammed a needle into Loki’s neck. “No.. I-I’m..” the raven haired prince slurred, his eyes rolling before passing out once more. The mark on his arm was now past his bicep and itched to continue its contamination. Thor whipped around, now hoisting Loki over his shoulder and stared in bewilderment, “What the fuck did you just inject him with?!” He could feel anger boiling once again. Just because they were all visibly upset with Loki did not mean that Steve had any right to inject a foreign substance into his brother. “Something to knock your brother out in case he decides he wants to be Ted Bundy.” Tony huffed, still panting from the quarrel. “Not appropriate, Stark. That’s actually sick.” Steve snapped at the billionaire who then shrugged his shoulders. “What?! Am I wrong? He is a mass murderer and he was going after my daughter!! Bundys victims were typically girls with long brown hair and Astrid has long brown hair. Whatever, that’s besides the fucking point.” He held his finger up to Steve who was going to scold him again. “I told you. I TOLD you that this is all on you if he fucks up like this. I should have never agreed to let him stay. In fact, he isnt gonna be staying here anymore.” He turned his back to Thor and snapped his fingers “JARVIS inform S.H.E.I.L.D they’ve got a delivery coming for maximum security. Oh and let Fury know too.”

——

-Approximately 12 hours later-

The harsh lights stung Loki’s eyes as he finally opened them. He had been out for longer than he anticipated but felt a sting in his neck. He hissed, reaching back and pressing on the tender area. Once his vision became more clear, panic settled in and he realized where he was. “No, no, no, no!!” He launched himself up, running to the invincible strong glass. He caught a glimpse of his own reflection and saw he was in S.H.E.I.L.D containment attire. Loki banged his fists on the glass only to then drop to the ground as his arm burned. “URRRRRRGGGHHH!!” His teeth ground together as his arm was on fire. Looking down, the god chokes on his own gasp as he realizes how far the blight has travelled. “No..” he whispers again, lifting his sleeve and seeing it has made it’s way past his shoulder.

“I see that you haven’t much time left.” Loki looked up, brow furrowed in agony at whoever spoke to him. It was just an agent that held their finger on the communication button. “That’s quite a nasty curse you’ve got there. Simple to get rid of, but quick to kill.” The agent chuckled. Swallowing the pain, Loki focuses on the mysterious agent before him, “How would you know of this curse? I did not expect S.H.E.I.L.D’s agents to be so knowledgeable in that area.” He grit out. The agent chuckles again, shaking their head “Oh no, that is where you are mistaken. No one in this complex knows a thing about what is wrong with you. But…. Someone with ties and blood from the lands created from Ymirs body, does.” The agent takes their hat off, grinning. Loki’s vision becomes red as he knows immediately who is standing before him. A man with pure white hair, strong posture, malicious smile and the same teal eyes that Loki had often found himself lost in laughed in mockery. “Yes, I finally get to meet the monster my little Astrid is so taken with.” Rudolph clapped his hands together, beaming with victory. “If you hurt her-” Loki growled, his blood boiling. “Oh if I hurt her? I haven’t done a thing to hurt her! … Yet. But you, however, you all powerful god… You have. I heard about your attempt to assault my daughter- Ah! No, no.” He waved his finger, pressing another button and sending shockwave after shockwave through the prince. Loki seized up, his body aching and seething with pain. Rudolph laughed maliciously, “You were going to say "she’s not my daughter”, no? She is very much my daughter. My creation. The plan.“ He gazed upon the broken god, smiling as his body smoked from electrocution. "Now I have to get going, dear prince as I have to prepare for my beloved daughters arrival! I am taking her home and finishing what I need to do so she can finally join her mother.” The sick grin never left the white haired mans face. Loki felt tears stain his smoking skin, attempting to shake his head. Never in his miserable life had he felt so powerless and helpless. Whatever he had done to Astrid was unforgivable and only added to the list of his woes. He couldn’t have her die. He loved her so much and took his emotions out the wrong way. He surrendered to himself. Loki was in love with Astrid. “The best part is that no one will believe you and you will wither away in that cell with no one to save you.” Rudolph laughed again, putting the hat back on his head. “I’ll see you tomorrow, God of Nothing.”


	4. Date Gone Wrong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Loki imprisoned at S.H.E.I.L.D and having information that no one will believe him on, he is stuck to wallow in his own misery; and the blight eating away at him. Meanwhile, Astrid is left with a very important decision to make that will impact both hers and Loki’s future…

What once was Loki’s room at the compound now laid bare, all empty but the girl who stood in it. The large, comfy bed that they once slept on: gone, all the books that he so loved to read: gone, knick knacks that the both of them enjoyed: gone, Friggas portrait: gone. It was Loki not being there that made the pain worse for Astrid. She knew what he had done crossed the line, but it was more of what he said that truly stung. “Don’t you have anything else better to do than mope around in here?” Astrid flinched at Natasha’s voice and she turned around to meet her gaze. The brunette gave a sad smile, nodding “I do. I just wasn’t aware of how far Tony would go.” She looked away from the assassin, becoming lost in her thoughts once more; her thoughts of _him_.

“You really do love him, don’t you?” Natasha’s tone became softer, a bit more sympathetic. Astrid shook her head, “I don’t know what to think anymore. Loving him hurts so much, Natasha… I-I’m sick of crying like some teenager over a crush that’s rejected her.” She wiped her teary eyes and sniffled. From the moment Astrid had finally come to her senses, the tears would not stop. It was her heart and soul that continued to weep at such betrayal after everything she had ever done for him. “Was it all a waste?” Astrid asked softly, looking back at the Black Widow. “I’m no expert when it comes to love so I’m not sure myself. Hell, it was hard enough coming to terms with my feelings for Steve.” She shrugged, walking over to the other woman and placing her hand on her shoulder. “One thing I’ll tell you is if you think your feelings and time given to him, truly, was well worth it then I wouldn’t sweat it. Love sucks and we gotta get up, let go and move on. Besides, I’ve seen someone look at you with big goo goo eyes, doll.” Natasha nudged Astrid’s shoulder and smirked at who she was referring to. The brunette gave a small smile, wrapping her arms around herself “It’s nice of Bucky to think of me like that…” “But…?” The red headed woman raises her brow, knowing there was more to it. “Nothing. It’s just nice to know is all.” Astrid’s voice cracked a little. It was pointless to continue trying to converse with a brick wall, so Natasha sighed in defeat. “Have you eaten lunch yet? It is 1 PM now. Come on, let’s get some grub.” The assassin linked her arm through the other girls, forcing her to get out of that miserable empty room.

“Hey kid.” Astrid felt Tony bump her arm as he sat beside her with a plate full of leftovers. “Hey.” She replied quietly, not wanting to talk about the inevitable.

“It’s been two days.” The man stated

“Yep.”

“You haven’t eaten anything but a cereal bar in the past two days.” He took a large bite of steak, raising his brow. Natasha’s jaw dropped a little and she glanced at Astrid “Are you really that upset over him?” The noise of the chair Astrid sat in slid on the floor, her breathing heavy. “I don’t wanna talk about this right now.” “Astrid Kalliope we are talking about it and we are gonna do it _now.”_ Tony put his fork down, his chair also making a horrible dragging noise. The brunette woman grit her teeth and stood rigid. She hated when he used her middle name. “No we are not. There is nothing more to talk about! Please… Just stop.” Her hand gently grasped the edge of the large sofa. “Whatever, go be emo for a bit if you want but at least eat something.” Tony grumbled, returning back to his food. He hated how stubborn she was. “I-I’m fine. I’m not…” Astrid closed her eyes as a wave of nausea came over her. “I’m not hungry.” She quietly exited the kitchen, feeling the intense urge to cry again.

“So then, I told this dude, well maybe if you didn’t mess with the Falcon you wouldn’t be in this shit! And this dude, he has the nerve to go- Who’s the Falcon!? Like bro, come on- Heyyy look who it is!” Sam grinned, nudging Bucky. “It’s ya girl. She’s fresh on the market now that greaseball is gone.” He winked, making his way to the kitchen without his company. “Astrid? Are you alright?” Bucky quickened his step as he noticed how pale she was. “Hey what’s-” as soon as he took a hold of her arms, the woman whimpered and fell into him. “Astrid. Astrid!! Jesus Christ.” He shook the unconscious girl a few times before hoisting her up bridal style and making his way down to Bruce. The sound of a chair dragging quickly then crashing down was soon followed by worried footsteps. “God damn it!” Tony ran after Bucky to catch up to him after he saw his daughter in the soldiers arms. Looking up from his work, Bruce adjusted his glasses and sighed “She’s taking it bad. Set her down here on this medical table, I’ll grab Cho.” The scientist muttered to himself, quickly exiting to the medical lab. Gently, Bucky set the pale woman down and made sure she was in a comfortable position. “She hasn’t eaten in two days besides a dumb breakfast bar.” Tony examined her and rubbed his head out of frustration. Bucky looked up at the Billionaire with concern “Two days isn’t much for me, but for her that’s not good.” He looked back down at the girl, pushing some hair from her clammy, pale face. The soldier flinched a little when Astrid unconsciously leaned into his touch, her pale pink lips parting as if to say something.

“Alright what’s the matter? Malnutrition? Oh dear. Love sick malnutrition.” Doctor Cho frowned as she knew immediately upon seeing Astrid. “You talk like she’s done this before.” Tony looked over at the doctor who nodded. Snapping her gloves on, Doctor Cho sighed loudly “It’s because she has. Everytime she would have a fight with Mr. Laufeyson, she would come here after not eating for a day. She didn’t want you to find out, but here we are.” She shook her head, checking Astrids vitals. Tony shook his head and gripped the bridge of his nose in disappointment. She had to go and pick Rock of Ages. “I was told it’s been two days since she last ate anything substantial?” Cho inserted a needle into Astrid to administer fluids. “Yep. Stubborn just like her mom was…” Tony nodded then caught the doctor looking at him inquisitively. “Funny, I didn’t know she was yours. I thought you didn’t care for kids.” Her head tilted. The billionaire waved his hand, shaking his head “No, no, no, no, no. She isn’t mine. Technically she is through adoption, but she’s not mine. Her mother was… A close friend of mine.” His eyes shimmered with a fondness at the memories he had with Astrids mother. The doctor nodded and then looked to Bucky, “So what are you doing here? Come to look for something morbid?” She joked, chuckling at the soldiers very negative response. “Absolutely not, ma'am. I brought her here. She was going to her room and she fell into me.” A tiny hint of pink faintly brushed Bucky’s cheeks from his wording. Tony scoffed, clicking his tongue and giving a slap to the other mans shoulder. “I would have preferred if she fell head over heels for you and not Prince of Darkness. At least you know how to respect someone. Let me know when my kid wakes up and I’ll come give her the typical parental talk.” Tony waved his hand as he walked out, anxious to finish his steak.

About 2 hours later, Astrid had finally woke up and was surprised to see Bucky sitting next to the table she lay on. “Whoa, whoa take it easy, doll.” He reached out as Astrid tried to sit up abruptly. “Doctor Cho has you hooked up on some fluids to make you better.” He gave her a soft smile, tucking some hair behind her ear. The girl shuddered and closed her eyes as she could only see Loki. “You’re not here to lecture me are you?” She spoke slowly, opening her eyes to look at the soldier. Bucky shook his head and smiled again, “No. I’m here because you’re my friend and I worried about you. I was glad I caught you when I did, that hardwood floor is a bitch.” He chuckled and felt his heart flutter when he saw the brunette woman return a small smile. Bucky wasn’t in love with Astrid per say, but he did like her a lot and wouldn’t be mad at all if she decided to forget Loki. Might as well take his shot and ask her on a date. Before the soldier could ask, a very stern looking Tony was at the end of the table, tapping his foot. “You weren’t kidding with the typical parental thing.” Bucky muttered to himself. Astrid cast her head down in shame and already knew what was coming. “Kid. Eyes up here, you’re 23 years old, not 7.” She looked up at his words and almost rolled her eyes. “Two things.” He whipped his hand up in a peace sign, “first things first. Please for the love of… Point Break, eat. Second.” He lowered his pointer finger down on purpose for this one “I’ll let you see Greaseball one more time, but to tell him goodbye. Ahtatata.” He shook his finger, changing it to his pointer when he saw her jaw drop. “I am being nice. You need to think about this, Astrid. Think about what he’s done, what he could do, and what he would do. He doesn’t feel the same way you do because he is literally the god of lying. If you don’t wanna get hurt again or keep sobbing everyday, I suggest you keep it short and sweet. Kay?” He raised his brow at her. Astrid felt her heart become stuck in her throat and time stopped. Tony was right but was he? Her Loki- No, he wasn’t hers…. Sadly, Astrid nodded her head, “I understand.”

——–

-7 PM S.H.E.I.L.D MAXIMUM SECURITY-

Nothing truly mattered anymore, not really. The only thing Loki could do now was sit and wait for death to drag him into the depths of the underworld. He spent the last two days screaming until he could not speak, finding any object sharp enough to return to his horrible habit, and begging for his mother to help him… For Astrid to forgive him.

“You have 5 minutes, Ms. Hanson.” Loki perked up slightly at the intercom. He was imagining things now, he was sure of it. After all, he refused any food or water.

The clicking of heels grew closer to his cell making his heart race. Loki scrambled up, getting to the glass as far as the chain around his ankle would go. His eyes sparked with a light when he saw her in a little black cocktail dress, her long brown hair down and curled, make up done and a pair of earrings to go along with her look. “You look beautiful.” He stuttered out, examining her and wishing he could touch her. “Thank you… I-I’m going on a date tonight.” Her words made his heart sink and his arm throb as the blight fed upon his hurt feelings. How could she do this to him? She was HIS! “You are mine.” His tone became a bit venomous. Astrid shook her head, fighting back the tears she so badly wanted to spill. “No. I am not yours, Loki. I never was yours and I will never be yours.” She took a deep breath in through her nose and held her ground. The brunette caught a glimpse of the fresh self inflicted cuts upon his arm, and it only fueled her desire to cry. “After all we have been through? You say this to me? TO ME!?” His fists banged on the glass, not caring about his ankle literally breaking in the process. Astrid’s lip quivered and she stayed silent, only a single tear sliding down her cheek. Loki began to breathe hard, laughing to himself “I fucking KNEW IT!! AHAHAAA! I KNEW IT ALL ALONG!! YOU WERE JUST ANOTHER WHORE WHO I MISTOOK FOR ACTUALLY CARING ABOUT ME!! HARLOT!!” His eyes were wide and the burn of his arm increased more, the blight now sinking into his arm. More tears began to spill down her face, Astrid could not hide them anymore. She had to do this no matter how badly she loved him. He had hurt her and she couldn’t forgive that… “This is goodbye, Loki.” Her voice quivered and she turned her gaze from his. The facade that he had put on quickly fell as he followed Astrid for as long as he could, “No-NO!! ASTRID NO!!” He fell flat on his face once he reached the chains limit. “Don’t go my little songbird. I wish to hear you sing forever, my love. A fool in love you have made me. Please come back…” The sound of her heels faded away from the cell as fast as they had came, leaving Loki to add another death on his hands.

———

-11 PM DOWNTOWN, NY-

Astrids giggles were like sweet melodies to Bucky’s ears. “You don’t drink very often, do ya, doll?” He chuckled at her happy buzzed state. The brunette woman shook her head, beaming at him and slipping her hand into his. “Nope! I just feel like I needed to let loose tonight.” She stopped, swaying their hands and teal eyes glittering in the streetlights. “I had a lot of fun tonight Buck. Thank you…” she bashfully took one of the ringlets of her hair and twirled it. She was happy, truly she was! Their date was spectacular and she was surprised Natasha convinced her to go. A lovely dinner, some yummy ice cream, some dancing, and now a walk in the night on the town without a care in the world…. Or at least that’s what she thought she felt. Astrid’s smile faded softly as Bucky looked at her then at her lips, his large hands gently around her waist. Astrids hands cupped his jawline, much like she did with Loki when she kissed him. The soldier leaned in, capturing the womans lips in a deep yet gentle kiss. Just as he predicted, they were as soft and luscious as he thought. He could easily let himself fall for this woman, but it was wrong. After another moment, Bucky stopped kissing the girl and smiled, “Astrid, Doll… I had a lot of fun too. Truth is, I do really like you- I mean look at you! You’re drop dead gorgeous but… I can’t take another mans girl.” His expression softened and he quickly took her hand, wanting her to listen. “Bucky,” Astrid came back down from her little high, an overwhelming sorrow gripping her again. The man shook his head and held a finger to his lips, “I know you love him. You are head over heels even after what he did. Now that’s your business to settle with, but I’ve seen the way you look at him and how he looked at you. Sometimes we guys are shit at expressing when we really love someone. It’s ok, Astrid.” His metal thumb wiped a tear from her cheek. Oh how he had hit home… Bucky was right. She could not let her heart go of Loki. She was his, her heart was his, her soul was his… Astrid grabbed Bucky, hugging him tightly before letting him go and smiling as she sniffled. “Thank you, Bucky.” She places a gentle kiss to his cheek. As Bucky was about to suggest they head home, a high pitched whistle rang through the streets.

About 8 masked figures dropped down, surrounding the pair. “Shit.” Bucky pulled Astrid to him tightly. “Do not let go of me.” He whispered into her long curls. What the hell was HYDRA doing all the way out here?! Oh. It hit Bucky like a freight train. “Hand the girl over and we can end this as nicely and cleanly as possible, failed project.” A womans deep voice spoke and she held a gloved hand out. Astrid gripped onto Bucky, shaking hard from the chill of the night and fear. “No. You’re not taking her and he won’t have her either you sick bastards!” Bucky kicked his leg up, brandishing a knife from his boot and slitting the throats of 2 HYDRA agents. The soldier knew he was taking a risk, but he shoved Astrid into the alleyway he cleared. “GO!! RUN!!” He turned his attention back to the goons before him, cracking his neck and grinning “let’s dance.”

Astrid ran as fast as her heels would let her, cursing herself for not bringing her bracelet that had her power suit. She didn’t want to rely on her Telekenisis, but from the look of things, she didn’t have much of a choice. The chilly air made her lungs feel like they were about to burst from how hard she ran. Taunts and jeers from agents hot on her trail never getting any more quiet. “Fuck off!!” She skid to a halt, her nose beginning to drip blood. The 3 agents that had followed her began to laugh as they got closer, “Awww look at the little doe… She’s shaking.” One of them reached out to grab her but had a pile of bricks fall on top of them and the other two. Gasping, Astrid grabbed a near by wall and coughed hard. She looked up and realized how close she was to getting back. “Bucky?” She rasped, her vision blurred slightly from her overuse of power. The figure did not answer as it got closer to her, it wore a long cloak and that made her heart leap. “L-Loki?” A hopeful smile quickly fell as the figure who stared down at her had the same eyes she did. “Hello, my darling daughter. You haven’t bothered to call me! How rude. I guess I’ll have to teach you a lesson.”

The sound of a gun clicking echoed and brought Rudolph’s attention to the new person. “You let her go you son of a bitch.” Buckys nostrils flared. The older man grinned in wicked delight, “The failed project! What a surprise!! Maybe I should take you back with me!! No… On second thought, I don’t think I will.” The last thing the soldier heard was a gun shot and Astrid screaming before everything went black.


	5. For Her Sake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Astrid being taken, Tony IMMEDIATELY throws the blame on Loki and goes to confront him. Meanwhile, Bucky is recovering from a gun shot wound he received from a sniper he did not see and is not there to defend Loki’s word…
> 
> !!!!!PROCEED WITH CAUTION AS THERE IS AN UNCOMFORTABLE SITUATION IN THIS PART!!!!

> _There wasn’t much that Loki could do but wait for death as he sat in his cell. Nothing mattered anymore, not really. This was all of his fault, he fucked something beautiful up that he could have had. The burning sensation in his arm had now faded to absolute numbness which was frankly more concerning; but the prince cared not. He was doomed from the moment he was mistakenly created…_

> _“Told you I’d be back to visit, your highness.” Rudolph’s voice echoed in the cell, causing Loki to open his eyes. What he saw made him lunge forward, his heart beating fast and blood pound in his ears. Astrid lay in the HYDRA commander’s arms, unconscious. “You sick fuck!!” Loki hissed, baring his teeth at the man. “Now you say that, but can you actually do anything?” Rudolph mocked him, giving him a smarmy grin. Of course he couldn’t do anything, typical villain line. Who hasn’t used that before? “No, I cannot. However, I can certainly fucking try.” His voice was laced with venom and eyes full of determination. Unfortunately for the rookie S.H.I.E.L.D agents, they had forgotten to place an anti magic chain around his ankle; something he figured out moments after Astrid had left earlier._

> _The glass shattered, alarms sounding off as Loki stepped out of his confines, chain off his swollen ankle and daggers in hand. “You will release her, NOW.” He took another step closer, his gaze never leaving his beloveds captor. The prince would get Astrid back come hell or high water. He knew he didn’t have much time left, so the last thing he could do is save her. “Boys!” Rudolph snapped his fingers, causing Loki to flinch out of his fear of Thanos. Two agents dropped down, taking a slowly waking Astrid from their boss._

> _The Tricksters heart pounded in his chest as he saw her eyes open just as she was being taken away again. “What- NO!! NO!! LOKI!! LOKI HELP ME!!” Astrid screamed, flailing against the two agents and struggling to get to her prince. “LOKI!!” She reached out to him, her eyes then rolling in the back of her head and body slumping as one of the agents injected a sedative into her._

> _A sharp pain also hit Loki and the unbearable fiery agony returned to his arm. The god fell to the ground, cursing himself for his weakness and hesitation. He groaned as Rudolph yanked him up by his hair, malicious teal eyes borrowing into him. “The cameras won’t save you either…” The Commanded turned to his new lackeys, nodding at them to release dead S.H.I.E.L.D agents to add more insult to injury._

And now, several hours later, here Loki was again; back in his cell with proper chains and a very angry Tony Stark re-breaking his nose. “THIS WAS ALL YOU!! MY DAUGHTER IS GONE BECAUSE OF YOUR PSYCHOTIC ASS!!” He socked the Trickster again, causing his lip to bust open. Loki wasn’t even fighting back. How could he when he lost everything he had ever loved? “THAT IS ENOUGH, STARK!!” Thor yanked Tony off of his brother, his nostrils flaring in anger. “You were to only speak with him, not beat him to a pulp!” Thor turned his attention back to Loki, kneeling down and taking a look at his younger brothers poor, beaten face. “Are you fucking crazy!? You know what? All you aliens are. You call him innocent after slaughtering innocent agents??” Tony scoffed, holding his arm out to the markings of where the bodies were. “They were not Loki’s doing. His blade nor his magick never once touched them. The victims have bullet wounds at close range.” The blonde god gave a gentle pat to Loki’s head, then standing up and turning to Tony again. The billionaire clenched his jaw tightly, not hearing any of this. “Yeah? Well your opinion is gonna change once we see the fucking footage of what he did-”

“That’s the problem.” Clint frowned, stepping in with Natasha. “There is NO footage to prove if he did it or not.” The marksman sighed in defeat, wanting to take Tony’s side. “We looked thoroughly and I’m inclined to believe Loki doesn’t have access to any gun or even having anything to do with Astrids disappearance.” The Assassin narrowed her gaze, wanting to chew Tony out for how shitty he was acting. Thor nodded to Natasha in a silent thank you. “Barn..” The Trickster rasped out, coughing before continuing to speak, “Barnes last saw her.” Natasha’s eyes widened at the sudden revelation. That’s right! She convinced the girl to go on a date with him!! “Oh so now we are playing the blame game?” Tony rolled his eyes and caught a snarl from the Black Widow. “Knock it off! He’s right. Bucky took her out on a date and then came back with a bullet but no girl. This time, I believe the God of Lies and that is something I thought I’d never say.”

——–

-HIDDEN HYDRA BASE-

Astrid moaned softly, her vision coming back blurry as she opened her eyes. “Loki-” she whispered his name then quickly sitting up, “Loki. LOKI!?” She began to panic and caught a reflection of herself. The brunette was dressed in a long white gown, earrings and shoes forgone and her little black dress in the garbage. “No, no, no, no!!!” She hopped off the examination table she was laid out on, pressing her hands against the glass cell she was contained in. “NO!! LET ME OUT!! PLEASE!!” she banged her hands against the bullet proof barrier. “Now, now daughter.” Her actions stopped the minute she heard her father’s voice. A chill ran down her spine and an uneasy feeling of doom washed over her. Rudolph chuckled, the sound of 3 extra pairs of footsteps entering her cell. Slowly, Astrid turned around and began to sob. She shook her head at the medical garb that they all wore and the surgical devices laid out on a silver tray. “Rudolph don’t do this. Please.” The brunette girl sunk to the floor, her arms wrapped around her shaking form as the surgeon’s made their way over to her.

“Father. Not Rudolph, father.” He corrected her, grinning as he watched his daughter struggle against the surgeon’s grip. “I need you, dear. I have finally found out a use for you!” He walked over, helping one of the doctors secure her legs down on the table and placing a restraint on each ankle. Astrids sobs, yelps, whimpers and pleas were music to this sick mans ears. “Do you remember when you walked in my office? When I beat you black and blue for doing so? Because you found these…” he held up research documents. She refused to answer, looking away before squeaking out of pain as Rudolph grabbed her cheeks roughly, turning her face to his. Astrid could do nothing now. Her limbs were restrained and psychic power blocked by whatever was in this cell. “Answer me!” He screamed. “Y-Yes!! You broke m-my arm too!!” She sobbed, her chest heaving up and down from how hard she breathed. Rudolph chuckled at her reply “That’s right!! I almost forgot how I made you scream!! How could I forget such a beautiful melody….” his hands suddenly gripped that same arm tightly, twisting it quickly. A sickening snap followed by a agonizing scream echoed off the walls. “Just like that~” he caressed her face in a mocking fashion. “Now!” He clapped his hands, the two assistant surgeons yanked her gown up, stopping beneath her breasts.

Of course she did not have any undergarments… This sick fuck had to make this as inhumanely humiliating and painful as possible. She felt a cold, gloved finger drag along the scar over her womb causing her to screech in terror. Rudolph pressed his hand down hard on the area, making Astrid to gag from the intense pressure and sharp stabbing sensation from inside her. “Mmm yes. The void stone. Thanos was very persuasive and intrigued by my idea, he is a great help! He even offered me double if I lure your darling prince here and finish the job.” He grinned wickedly down at the helpless girl. “I have all the other materials I need, but I just need this one final piece.” He began to laugh as Astrids face contorted in shock and agony from the scalpel dragging deep into her flesh. Her screams could deafen all of the sick bastards in the confines of this torture room. The girls stomach lurched, cold sweat ran down her body and the strong urge to faint wished to come over her… But Rudolph would not give her that sweet relief.

——–

-MEDICAL BAY, AVENGERS COMPOUND-

The entire way there, Tony and Thor had to be broken up due to their differing views. The God of Thunder entered the med bay sporting a black eye and Tony holding his new broken nose. “Idiots.” Natasha huffed, walking over to Steve’s side. “I understand where they both are coming from but…. You know what, I’ll keep my comment to myself.” Steve sighed, shoving his hands in his pockets. “What happened to you two? Did you get hit by a bus or something?” Bucky raised an eyebrow and shook his head in confusion. Before the billionaire could reply with a snarky comment, Thor cleared his throat very loud. “Differences in opinion on a situation regarding personal matters. This one does not seem to take the idea of anger management to heart-” He felt Natasha’s glare pierce through his back. Thor respected Natasha and knew she could kick his ass. “Brother Bucky, we were informed-”

“Enough with the formal bullshit. Where’s my kid? What happened? You have five seconds before I go back and give Rock of Ages a shower with his own-” he winced as he felt a strong punch to his shoulder. The red haired woman was not having it and growled at the billionaire. The soldiers face fell, turned pale even. “Trickster ain’t the problem here, Tony. It’s her pops.” He chewed the inside of his cheek. For once, Tony was silent, but his rage not unheard. “Great. So we gotta find a HYDRA base.” Natasha sarcastically remarked. “Nat.” Steve placed a hand on his girlfriend’s waist before speaking up. “Yes, we do indeed have to find out where this base is and get Astrid back home. Buck, are you by chance aware of any that could be scattered around near by?” The captains eyes were full of desperate hope…. To all of their sheer luck, Bucky nodded. “I know theres a few around. One of them is more North toward Canada. It’s under an abandoned mansion. That is the one that I know is most active. The other bases ain’t properly set up for any type of work.” He nodded, looking at the group and stating firmly “You’re gonna need a guide. I know HYDRA base layouts like the back of my hand.”

Tony gave a very loud sigh of relief only to tense up at Thor’s interjection. “Loki should come with us.”

“Abso-fucking-lutely not. That son of a bitch can fucking rot in that cell for all I fucking-”

Steve waved his hand and frowned “Stark please can we stop with the language? I understand you are angry, I am too but-”

“She’s not your kid, Rogers. That’s my daughter and I made a promise to her mother that I would protect her with every fiber of my being. I may have adopted her, but god damn it she is my daughter.” Tony’s honey brown eyes gleamed with threatening tears.

“Loki is quite literally, as you put it, rotting in his confines. He is cursed, Stark. If you actually paid attention, you would have noticed that he has a blight eating away at his flesh and the only way to stop it is… Is for him to come over his fear of loving and being loved in return.” Thor spoke softly, his tone pleading him. He couldn’t lose his baby brother… Thanos almost had taken him and now he was under the threat of this blight. There was truly nothing left for Thor if Loki died. He was the only family he had left. “It’s true. If you need further proof, I only took Astrid on a date to help her see she still loves him and he loves her. This is really sappy, I get it, but for christ sake… I agree with Thor we need him. If it makes you feel better, I’ll be pairing up with him so you don’t gotta. The more time we waste bitching about how you hate the guy…” Bucky bit his lip, closing his eyes. “The more likely we won’t get to her in time and she’ll be dead long before that.”

Tony turned his back on the group, feeling tears slide down his cheeks. He couldn’t let his baby girl die… He promised her mother. He swore on his life when he first held that little, pink innocent babe in a bundle. “Stark… Please. Put your differences aside. If not for us, do it for her.” Steve spoke up, hoping his words would not be disregarded.

Tony turned back around, taking a deep breath in and wincing from his broken nose. “I wanted to look cooler than that.” He muttered about his posture. “Alright. Let’s go grab Prince of Darkness and save Astrid." 


	6. To Love and be Loved in Return

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This curse inflicted upon Loki will not hinder him from saving the woman he loves. He will do anything in his power to see her safe and hear her sing once more… Even if it is the last time for him.

> _“How rude of you Stark. I am not ready for another round of facial reconstruction yet.” Loki did not even have to open his eyes to know that Tony was there. He could feel the philanthropists seething anger toward him the moment he step foot in the complex. “Have you come to at least consult me first?” He snorted to his own amusement.  
> _
> 
> _“No, brother.”  
> _
> 
> _Loki’s eyes opened to the sound of Thor’s voice and turned his attention to his older brother and the entourage he had brought with him. “Ah, I see. This is not a consultation then. Have you all come to gawk at the dying animal held in captivity against it’s will?” His smirk faded once he saw Tony’s lip twitch in amusement. The Trickster turned his head away from the group, no longer wishing to see them. “Find it funny, do you? Such a piss poor taste in humor you have. I cannot say I entirely blame you though, since you so vehemently detest my being.” He laughed with a humorless breath. The raven haired prince smirked in delight to himself as he could feel Stark’s rage and irritation rise steadily. He just knew how to get under his skin. “You’re a real pain in-” Tony paused, biting his tongue and feeling eyes bore into him at the attempt of feeding the fire. “Listen. I am here out of my own decision and more from the influence of others, don’t flatter yourself that I’m doing this greaseball.” He sighed, feeling slightly better that he at least got that jest out. “We found out where Astrid is.”_
> 
> _The Tricksters lips parted and his heart leapt into his throat from hearing this. No, they weren’t here to comfort him… They were here to mock him! Loki’s nostrils flared and he turned his gaze back to the Avengers, leering. “Oh so now not only have you come to entertain yourselves by witnessing me perish from agony, but also have come to toy with my feelings? Isn’t that right? Hmm, I would have expected better out of some of you, especially Rogers.” he hissed, hurt laced in his words. Tony’s jaw clenched and he stepped toward the glass, pointing at Loki “You just love hearing yourself talk, don’t you? Guess what, a-hole? Villain monologues are soooo-” The billionaire winced as he felt Natasha give him a sharp elbow to his ribs. Natasha stepped forth, having enough of this asinine tom-foolery. Her blue eyes locked onto Loki’s blue-greens as she began to speak, “We are not here to “toy with your feelings” or come to see you suffer. This was all a mutual agreement that we had come to, even if Stark wanted to be a mega asshole and say no. You two have the closest connection with Astrid out of all of us and it would not be fair to have you come along in her rescue; even with whatever is going on with your arm.” She nodded at his blighted limb that now looked blackened and charred. Tony even grimaced at the sight, rubbing his own arm, “Shit I didn’t know it was that bad.” he muttered to himself._
> 
> _“Point is, she is our friend too and just as important to us. Tony is willing to put aside his differences and let you help us. In his words, not mine, he even said “‘Well I guess we could use his magical Harry Potter wizard talent.’” Again, his words.“ She glanced over at a slightly dumbfounded Tony. He shook his head at her then at Loki, struggling to say something before surrendering to a pout. “You did say it.” Bucky nudged the philanthropists arm and grinned at the scoff he recieved from his comment. Steve nodded his head to a few security officers to release Loki, “Fury wasn’t too bright about the idea either but we had Stark convince him.” He smiled kindly. To this, the god of mischief raised one brow in doubt. “Pray tell, Captain, how in the 9 realms did you possibly manage that?” He stood up, letting the officers take his restraints off and waited for an answer; his expression amused. “No one takes Stark seriously since Fury already views him as a mad idiot that tinkers with metal.” Thor answered, smiling at his brother. “Yeah and he thinks that you’re just some himbo airhead that controls the weather, Point Break.” Tony muttered under his breath, whistling and looking away as Thor looked at him. Steve waved his hand to settle the chattering, wanting to focus on the larger picture at hand. “Alright, if we are done being 12 year olds, I’d like to point out that we have a bigger issue.” He glanced around at the group, now with Loki joining them and using his seidr to change into his battle armor.  
> _
> 
> _“If it makes you feel any better, we are going to be in teams.” The captain nodded to the Trickster who now was intrigued. “Stark and Romanov will be taking care of database and security. Nat, I’m giving you two identical thumb drives, one has a star etched into it. That is the one you’re going to be plugging into the system to gather as much information possible on any other bases HYDRA might have scattered around. There may also be files that have plans encrypted on details with any possible attacks or dealings with Thanos. When Tony is done gathering that, take the starred drive and plug in the decoy. If HYDRA gets a hold of that, then that’s their loss since we had Stark’s professional hacker infect that baby with plenty of viruses.” Steve turned to Bucky and saw him chuckle a bit. “Something funny, soldier?” He eyed his best friend. “It’s kinda weird hearing you talk about all this tech considering where we both came from, but it’s cool.” The Winter Soldier nodded toward him as a sign to continue. Steve explained who would be going with who; Loki and Bucky would team up and leave Steve and Thor to team up. “As an emergency, we have Sam and Clint coming along. They will be on the outskirts and viewing from afar should anything go wrong. Is this all understood?” The Captain held his hands out, seeing everyone agree. They were all set to go, but before they left…_
> 
> _Tony cleared his throat loudly, rolling his eyes and holding his hand out to Loki. “Don’t take this as a sign we’re gonna be bffs because I still don’t like you but I’ll tolerate you.” He looked at the Trickster, waiting for a mutual agreement. Hesitantly, Loki looked at his hand then back up at the father of the woman he loved desperately. “It is settled then.” Loki took Tony’s hand firmly, placing their civil understanding and same determination to save Astrid._

Here the team was, hours later and deep in the HYDRA base that Bucky had lead them to.

Steve and Thor were taking watch over the giant experimental base, gazing on all the horrors HYDRA had been creating and figuring out a way to destroy it. These abominations had qualities that lead Steve to believe they were going to be in possession of Thanos at some point. 

Tony and Natasha had stealthily made their way to the central database; Natasha keeping watch and guard as Tony worked as fast as he could to get the files downloaded. Unfortunately, according to Tony, the wi-fi and download speed “sucked ass.” 

Sam and Clint were perched in the trees near the seemingly abandoned mansion. Each of them had ear pieces in to alert the team if something was going wrong. The both of them wore camo to blend in with the surrounding forest. 

Bucky and Loki were quietly making their way through the eerie, crumbling walls in search of Astrid while also keeping an eye out for agents. The Trickster also had to keep note of the blight that crawled under his skin as it was dangerously approaching his chest and heart. “You should uh, probably know something.” The Winter Soldier whispered out to Loki. The latter did not respond and kept moving, focused intently on the direction and not wanting to make a wrong turn or go in circles. “I took Astrid out on a date.” Bucky spoke up. 

“I am aware.” Loki replied in a cool tone. 

“She had a lot of fun.” 

“Mm.” 

“She looked absolutely gorgeous.” 

“…” 

“I kissed her-” The brunette man inhaled sharply as Loki spun around, towering over him with a dangerous look in his eyes. “As much as I appreciate your honesty, it would be wise to save that conversation for another time when we are not risking our lives, Barnes.” There was a hint of jealousy laced in his tone, and it was all too noticeable. “I get it. I do, but I am just telling you right now because… Because I can’t take her from you. I think she’s beautiful, stunning.” Bucky shrugged, feeling the intense impatience from the Trickster for him to finish what he was trying to say. “She cares about you a lot, Loki. I’d even go as far to say she loves you-” Loki slapped a hand over the soldiers mouth and shoved him against the wall as he heard approaching footsteps. 

The footsteps stopped and the sound of a gun loading echoed. 

“Why’d you stop?” An agent whined. 

“I thought I heard something- Hm?” The other agent listened in on the ear piece as news was announced. 

“What is it?” 

“We’ve got some company. Avengers breached the project arena where the test subjects are being kept. It’s that Thunder God and The Captain, and if they’re here then they’ve got some friends with ‘em too. Keep your eyes pealed and shoot to kill.” 

The men looked at each other then over at the shadows of the HYDRA agents just around the corner. Once their hurried footsteps vanished, Loki let go of Bucky and gave him a warning glance as to stay quiet. The two made their way down a long hall and into a large spacious room that looked to be a training gym of sorts. Just as they were about to reach the double doors on the other side, the sound of around 20 guns cocking echoed through the gym. 

“Sound the alarm. We indeed have some rats.” A woman’s deep voice spoke, heels clicking on the polished wood floor. “Turn around gentlemen, I would at least like to see your faces as we kill you- Oh! Oh my…” The woman grinned viscously as her dark eyes landed on Bucky, her hand waving in signal to prepare to fire on her mark. “The Failed Project.” She clapped her hands together, shaking her head with that sick smile still plastered on her face. “Hello, Officer Erika.” Bucky mocked her smile before frowning as she stepped closer to him. The Officer named Erika almost purred as she ran a leather gloved finger over Bucky’s jaw. “Such a pity.” She glanced over at Loki, her pupils blown in lust. “Such a _damn_ pity. Two handsome men wasted by my hands in an attempt to save a stupid girl.” Erika backed away, giving a fake sigh of sorrow as she stood behind her troops. “Kill them.” 

Guns began to fire but time suddenly had stopped. “Three minutes.” Loki spoke, concentrating on keeping the spell active. Bucky shook his head in bewilderment at what was happening. “Do not just stand there like a deer in headlights! You have three minutes until the spell ends before you are blasted into with bullets!” The Trickster shouted, a bead of sweat rolling down his face. Taking this as his cue, Bucky pulled his knife out, moving out of the still bullets that seemed to float in the air. “You ain’t thinking of splitting up.” Bucky glanced at the god, his expression falling. “Two minutes now, Barnes. It seems that you have a death wish-” Loki felt the soldiers metal arm grasp the front of his tunic in a bout of rage. “We are not splitting up. It’ll only slow us down!”, “That it will not!! I know what I am doing Barnes, so unless you want to waste more time with your empty threats, I suggest you slit their throats and move on.” In a flash of green, Loki had taken the appearance of a HYDRA rookie, causing Bucky to let go and turn around, huffing in anger. “If you cannot trust me, then trust my rage. You have 1 minute and 30 seconds, make use of it.” And with that, The Winter Soldier was now alone. He did not like the fact Loki was doing this, but he would take the gods rage into consideration. Cracking his neck, Bucky moved forward and quickly got to work. 

——–

Clutching her abdomen, Astrid limped over to the door of the cell she was kept in and whimpered of pain. Blood stained the front of her long white gown from where her father and a team of surgeons removed a sharp stone from her womb. Rudolph had put that thing inside of her as a mean to hide it until the time came where he would need it. The girl did always wonder why her cycles were so off or painful. During this brutal torture, Astrid was given no pain relief or anesthesia to at least knock her out. Cold water had been splashed on her to keep her awake for her bastard father’s sick pleasure in case she fainted. Unfortunately, the brunette woman was certain she was assaulted as she was being worked on. There was a horrible burning pain between her legs and an unpleasant soreness within her core. To make things all the more worse, they even kept her conscious when they put sutures to close her back up. The pain was unbearable and wasn’t like anything she had ever felt before; on top of that, her broken arm was held loosely in a make shift sling. Astrid knew that her father wanted her to beg for death but she would not grant him that wish and would keep fighting until her body no longer could. 

“Please…” She whispered, pushing on the door in hope that there would be a chance it was left unlocked. To her surprise, the door gave way and she stumbled out. Astrid’s heart began to race and her adrenaline pumped hard through her aching body. This was her chance to try and contact her true family and have them rescue her! Her legs moved a little faster with the adrenaline flowing through her system and she managed to get out of that nightmare of a room and into the halls. Red lights flashed and alarms blared through the compound as agents were being sent to find and kill whoever was there. As quickly as she could, Astrid hid behind a wall and pressed her small frame as close to the wall as possible. Her unbroken hand trembled and cold sweat ran down her spine in fear that she would be seen. 

“Avengers spotted in hall C, Control Room and Arena. One of them is missing out of the 6. Find the missing member and kill him.” The intercom blared over the sirens, making Astrid’s eyes water with some relief. “Identified Avengers: Captain America, Black Widow, Winter Soldier, Ironman, Thor and Loki. If Loki is found, report to Commander Rudolph immediately and capture on sight.” 

Astrid covered her mouth with her left hand, shutting her eyes tightly and shaking. While it warmed her heart that he had come along, she also feared for his safety. Normally, someone like Rudolph wouldn’t be a challenge for Loki or any of the Avengers…. But with what he had planned made Astrid scared for all of their lives. Once she was certain that the waves of agents had passed, the brunette made her way down the vast hallways as fast as her tired body would let her. A few times she had to stay still and wait for any passing agent to leave without noticing her. Finally, double doors came into her line of sight and she quietly padded over to it with her bare feet. The doors were very heavy and made it difficult for her to open even one, but she managed. This room was not something she had wanted to find, but it would do for the time being. It was a security camera room and someone had foolishly left their access card to the system on the keyboard. Perhaps luck was on Astrid’s side after all. 

Her trembling fingers grazed over the buttons before she grabbed the key card and swiped it, gaining complete control over the intercom and cameras. Her teal eyes scanned the monitors over and over, looking for where her rescuers could be. Astrid’s luck ran out when half of the monitors suddenly died, their screens crackling as they were turned off. The girl bit her lip, holding back her tears of frustration. “Come on..” She continued to look until she spotted the main control room, her eyes lighting up. Without thinking, Astrid pressed the intercom button to that specific room and cried out, “N-Nat!! Tony!!” 

——–

The red haired woman cracked her neck, staring down at a dead HYDRA agent that she had taken out before turning her attention to the billionaire. “How much longer is that piece of shit gonna take?” She rushed over, looking at the glitching screen. Tony’s fingers moved quickly, numbers running in his head as he was trying to speed the process up. “It’s at an 82% complete rate right now. This tech is older and is stubborn to use.” He muttered, entering a code that booted the progress up to 85% completion. Natasha groaned in annoyance, if this thing could move any slower she might just yank the damn thing out and take what they have. 

Suddenly, their attention was brought to a cracking noise from a security monitor. Tony looked at the files for a moment then to the screen, a smile coming to his face as Astrid appeared. “Hey kiddo.” He sniffled, happy to see her alive and breathing, but damn did she look worse for wear. A smile was also brought to Natasha as she was relieved to see Astrid had somehow reached a control room. 

“I-I’m ok! I think I am. Please hurry, I’m in a lot of pain and my arm is broken.” Astrid’s voice became panicked and she constantly checked over her shoulder at any sudden noise. 

“Sweetheart, I’m gonna need you to stay there.” Tony spoke, his tone stern. “We will get to you as soon as we can. God, I hope you’re not too badly hurt because you look like shit, kid.” He gave a small huff, shaking his head. “Buck and Loki should be close by if I am guessing where you are at. Steve and Thor aren’t too far off either, but we are stuck in here until this Dial Up ran piece of crap finishes downloading what we need. I think someone needs to hang up their phone so we can get to you faster.” Natasha joked, trying to make light of their dark situation. Her comment made Astrid smile and she looked like she wanted to laugh, but was in too much pain to do so. The brunette girls smile quickly faded as she turned her head and saw the doors open, Rudolph and an agent following shortly behind him. She turned back to the screen, crying and breathing hard. “Dad!! Dad help me!! Dad!-” 

“ASTRID!! HANG ON!! DON’T TURN OFF THAT- GOD DAMN IT!!” Tony slammed his hands down on the control board of the monitor as their connection was severed, the assassin and panic stricken father left in grim suspense to Astrid’s status. 

——–

The agent came up behind Astrid, yanking her roughly from the control board as she thrashed against him. “LET ME GO!! LET ME GO!!” She screamed, opening her mouth and biting down on the agents hand as hard as she could, but his grip not loosening. “Careful now, darling daughter.” Rudolph seemed to float over, grabbing a handful of her long brown curls and yanking her head back. “You’ll re-open your sutures and I can’t have you bleeding all over the floor! You won’t be able to pay for it because you will be dead by then.” He yanked on his daughters hair harder, grinning at the agent. “She’s just like her mother. Full of fight but too easy to overpower.” The commander released her hair, then pulling out a large needle and stabbing it into Astrid’s neck, her body becoming limp in the arms of the agent. 

“Come now, let’s return her to her room. Ungrateful little bitch..” He spit on Astrid’s face, causing the agent to flinch. “Sir, isn’t she your daughter?” he asked, horror in his voice. Rudolph looked up at the agent as though he was stupid and narrowed his eyes. “You have seen what I’ve done to her, have you not? You think a little spit is worse than a broken arm and a poorly closed gash? Hm. What did you say your name was, boy?” He eyed the agent, pursing his lips in contemplation before turning around and motioning his hand as a signal to follow. “T-Thomas, sir. Thomas Conrad.” Thomas stuttered out, adjusting Astrid’s unconscious form in a more comfortable position in his arms as he carried her. The Commander hummed in response, showing Thomas where to place the limp girl in her cell. “You must be a new recruit. I can tell by how… Nervous you are. There’s anticipation and hesitancy in your actions.” Rudolph sat down in a chair, crossing his legs. He gestured for Thomas to join him, offering a seat beside the white haired man. 

The young ginger man nodded, nervously walking over and sitting awkwardly next to Rudolph. “Tell me, boy. How old are you?” He began to pour some wine and glanced at the agent. “Twenty three, sir. I am old enough to drink but if I may, I would like to politely decline.” He twiddled his thumbs, chewing the inside of his cheek. The commander nodded and offered a smile, “I respect that.” He sipped on the blood red wine, licking his lips before standing and walking forward to the cell where his daughter lay. “For a rookie, you have gone above and beyond my expectations. I should reward you for telling me of my daughter’s attempt at escape.” He took another sip of wine and kept his eyes focused on Astrid as Thomas quietly came up, standing beside him. Rudolph nodded, then parting his lips to speak, “What is it that you desire, rookie? A pay raise? A higher rank? A celebration feast for your clever feat?” The white haired man eyed Thomas suspiciously, trying to read into the young man. He knew that something was off… There was no Thomas Conrad in the registry. 

“Or perhaps, you’d like to fuck my daughter. She is pretty, no?” Thomas choked on his own spit at the suggestion and shook his head no. “No! I-I mean, no I don’t want to sleep with her. She is very beautiful sir, in fact she captivated me the moment I saw her, but I am a man of respect and to do that to a lady, to anyone, is immoral and cruel.” Thomas looked down, guilt building inside of him as if he had attempted such before. Rudolph hummed once more, pressing a button on the control board for Astrid’s cell before looking back up and just watching mindlessly. “S-Sir? What did you just press?” Thomas swallowed, his hands shaking. The White haired man shrugged and sipped his wine again, “It can get a little warm in there so I’m at least giving her some relief from the heat.” 

A shriek brought both of their gazes to Astrid who was now shivering hard, unable to warm herself from the frigid cold. “Commander Rudolph, w-with all due respect, I do not think that is helping your daughter at all. It was not warm in there when I set her down-” He was cut off by a firm smack across the face from Rudolph. His eyes, the same color as Astrid’s, were devoid of any sort of pity for the rookies words. “Do NOT speak for me, boy. If you wish to hold my favor then I advise you hold your tongue… Now, I need to go and see how my experiments are handling those pitiful group of “heroes” you are to stay here and watch over my daughter. Do not enter her cell and if she begs, turn the dial up.” A smirk broke across his face before he turned on his heel and exited the room quickly. 

Thomas knew that Rudolph was lying. He wasn’t going to go where he said he was going… This was proving to be tricky. 

“H-Help me, please.” Astrid was looking at the ginger man, lips losing their color. The agent looked down at the dial, lower lip quivering. “F-Forgive me.” He held back a sob, cranking the dial up and hearing the brunette shriek again. Her body now shivered violently in a matter of minutes, lips a light blue and frost beginning to form on her lashes. Tears rolled down the agents sculpted cheeks as he watched Astrid start to succumb to hypothermia. He could not watch her die. In a flash of green, Thomas was no longer there but instead, Loki. He couldn’t risk hurting her anymore by breaking the glass; so instead he stomped the control panel, causing the air to stop and making his way to the door of her cell. With all of his might, Loki ripped the door off of the hinges and ran inside, scooping up the shivering woman gently. 

“Shhh.. I’m here. I’ve got you.” Loki pulled her body close to his and took her out of that hellish confinement, sitting on the floor with her and trying to warm her up. He kissed her forehead, tears of his own staining the white gown that Astrid wore. “I am so sorry, my little songbird. I’m so sorry.” He sobbed quietly, his lips still pressed to her skin. Loki felt her shift, and found her looking at him with teal eyes glittering with tears but a soft smile on her lips. “L-Loki..” She reached up with her left hand, cupping his face. “I’m here, darling. I will never leave your side again, never. Norns, you have made me a fool.” He chuckled softly and held her hand to his face, nuzzling into her touch. His right arm began to throb painfully, but he ignored it in favor of staring into Astrid’s eyes. The words he wanted to say were caught in his throat and Loki could not bring himself to speak. Instead, he placed a kiss to her hand he still held to his face and continued to look at her. “My beautiful girl, how you have bewitched me so.” He placed another kiss to her hand and saw some color bloom into Astrid’s cheeks. “Loki- LOKI!!” Astrid’s eyes widened as Rudolph was suddenly behind the god. It was too late, before Loki could turn around, the Commander stabbed the prince through his back and chest, lifting him up and tossing him like a ragdoll across the room. 

Astrid looked from Rudolph to Loki, trying to get up but only falling onto her broken arm and now slightly opened sutures. A blood curdling scream pierced through the room as Astrid writhed in pain, her chest heaving from how hard she breathed. The brunette squealed out of fear as her father grabbed her by her hair, blood dripping down her legs and soaking her front. She continued to scream as he dragged her by her hair over to where Loki lay, coughing. The prince gazed over to his beloved, anger filling his eyes as he hoisted himself up and lunged at the Commander, and in a flash of green he teleported the three of them into the gym. As soon as they all hit the ground, the wall to the gym exploded and exposed the room to the storming elements outside. Astrid’s body skid across the ground, her blood smearing a trail. The two men exchanged blows, their blades clashing while the strong wind and rains whipped their bodies. Rudolph backed away for a moment, grinning at Loki as he held up a deep violet stone that radiated with negative energy. 

“Thanos is very helpful and persuasive in getting others what they want. But I don’t think you can say that after your little stunt.” The Commander licked his lips and laughed at the god who doubled over in pain. Loki could feel the blight encase his left pectoral and seep into his muscles, he was running out of time. As he looked up, he saw Rudolph slam the stone into his own chest, twisting it to fit into his suit. He began to laugh louder, looking at his own hands as visible energy swirled within his palms. The Commander held out a hand, sucking up giant chunks of concrete into his hand and ejecting them toward Loki with the other. Loki dodged out of the way, his head turning as a small piece sliced his cheek and almost hitting his eye. “What are you doing!? This is madness, Rudolph!! No mortal or being should have that power!!” The prince stared in horror as the white haired man had gained the power to literally control nothing. “Like I said, Thanos is a god.” He grinned, “But I won’t give him all the credit.” He looked over at Astrid’s unmoving form. “She served her purpose as the mother of this power. Last night, she gave birth to this,” He tapped his chest. “Of course, I put it in there when she was 11. So in a twisted way, I am the father of her and the stone.” 

Loki shook his head, almost foaming at the mouth. “You sick fuck.” He growled, shadow stepping behind Rudolph and knocking him off balance. Thunder roared over head as the two duked it out with intent to kill each other. Hit after hit, but no fatal blow the two went on until the older man formed a spear made from void crystals, stabbing it into Loki’s abdomen. He smirked maliciously as the raven haired man sunk to his knees, eyes wide and mouth hanging open. Loki gasped for air from how badly this wound was and felt like his energy was being sucked into nothing. As Rudolph watched the god fall before him, there was a sharp pain in his back and he turned to investigate. Astrid gripped tightly onto the sharp stone she held, her body shaking but eyes full of malice for her bastard father. “I will send you to h-hell.” She grit out, trying to push the stone further in. “This is for my mother, for me, a-and for Loki!!” She ripped the stone out, stabbing it down again with the last of her strength. Rudolph’s hand snatched her throat, squeezing tightly and raising her off the ground. “How cute… Thinking you can kill me.” He smiled as he watched his daughter struggle to breathe before walking over to a panting Loki who’s face was now starting to be affected by the blight. “You are very much in love with her aren’t you? So sweet. I should give you my blessing.” 

The Commander tossed Astrid to the ground and she gasped hard, eyes rolling in the back of her head before she blacked out. Loki cried her name out, his voice cracking and heart beating faster, fighting the curse to it’s best ability. Lightning struck the ground followed by the explosion of thunder and Mjolnir flying in Rudolph’s direction. Thor landed on the burnt ground, eyes glowing white and Mjolnir returning to his hand. “This ends here now!” He declared, the air becoming full of static. From behind, Rudolph was grappled by the two assassins; Bucky on his left and Natasha on his right. He threw them both off with ease but not before noticing they placed sticky bombs on his body. “Clever.” He grinned before absorbing the bombs into his suit and activating his helmet as a shield whizzed past his ear. Rudolph walked forward, pulling rubble into his palms and blasting it out around him, knocking a few Avengers back. “You cannot stop me. I am invincible. I am a GOD.” He pointed a metal finger toward Thor in a mock. 

“Nice suit. Where’d you get those blueprints I wonder?” Rudolph turned around to the new voice, Ironman in full armor and flying over him. “Oh right. You stole ‘em from me. I gotta say, Rudy you have truly outdone yourself by making my stolen work look like trash.” Tony jeered, flying back and sending heat missles from his arm. Thor took to the sky, joining Tony and sending bolt after bolt at the Commander. 

Struggling to breathe, Loki pulled himself to Astrid and unclipped his cloak. Carefully, he hoisted himself up and wrapped her body in his cloak to keep her from freezing. “My songbird, please do not give up. Keep fighting. Please.” He wheezed, his hand pushing Astrid’s wet hair from her pale face. Natasha ran over with Bucky and Steve following in short. “We’ve got her from here.” Bucky gave Loki a knowing glance and the god nodded in acknowledgement before throwing his body over Astrid’s as giant pieces of concrete scattered the team apart. The Trickster hissed in pain as he felt his back get torn up and scraped from the rubble. He would endure it so long as Astrid was unharmed and still breathing. “What happened to my son in laws participation?” Rudolph panted, grabbing Loki by the hair and throwing him towards a strong bolt of lightning that Thor had cast. 

The Tricksters body hit something metal and hard, “Get it together Half Blood Prince!!” Tony smacked Loki’s cheek 3 times before the god returned to attention. “Th-Throw me to my brother!” The god of mischief shouted over a clap of thunder. “Why are all you gods fucking out of your god damn minds!?” The billionaire hoisted Loki up before launching him over to Thor. “So glad you could join us, brother!” The blonde god felt his younger sibling land on his back. “What did you have in mind?!” He shouted back to Loki. “I need to borrow some lightning! If I can pierce his back with one of my daggers while under your power, we could electrocute him!” He showed Thor one of his daggers and his brother nodded. “I hope that this works!” He reached back, touching the blade and filling it with electrical energy, “Throw it now, Loki!!” 

A blade glided through the air, crackling with high potency and lodging itself right into Rudolph’s lower back. The Commander began to convulse as his suit malfunctioned, bringing him down to the ground where is chin was met by a rapidly spinning shield. Thor, Loki and Tony all descended toward Rudolph, only to be blasted apart from each other by an invisible force. The white haired man held his hand out as he saw Natasha attempting to get Astrid out of there. “What the fuck!?” Natasha and Astrid were pulled toward Rudolph with the Black Widow being sent flying into a beam and knocking her prone. Steve shouted for her, throwing his shield once again “BUCK, NOW!!” He ran over to Natasha as Bucky leapt into the air and rode the shield, flying toward Rudolph and plunging his knife into the mans chest. “Ahhh the failed project. I remember you, Winter Soldier.” Rudolph grabbed Bucky’s wrist, snapping it in two before tossing him aside and holding Astrid in the air. The Commander ripped the blade from his chest, and flicked his wrist to send her to him. 

“LOKI WAIT-” Thor cried out to a vanishing Loki. 

Just as the blade was about to pierce Astrid’s dying body, Loki appeared before her and took the stab. His tired arms wrapped around the woman’s small frame as they fell to the ground with a thud. All the noises surrounding the god and his mortal became muted as he gazed upon the slowly stirring girl. “Astrid..” He gasped, trying to stay alive for just a bit longer. His heart burned and his vision began to flicker as he held her. Weakly, Astrid’s eyes fluttered open and her breaths came out shallow. “I am sorry.. I am so sorry..” he reached up, cupping her face while continuing to gasp for air. The brunette moaned of pain, hot tears providing her chilled cheeks with some warmth “It’s ok, Loki.” Her voice came out in a mere whisper. Though her hair dragged in the dirt, Astrid leaned forth and pressed her forehead to his as best as she could. The prince smiled at this, pulling her body closer to his. “Forgive me. For all I have done to h-hurt you.” His eyes became impossibly heavy and a golden warmth began to wash over his form. “No, don’t close your eyes, please don’t, Loki don’t.” Astrid whimpered as his skin became more cold. “Loki don’t leave me.” her sobs started to fade in and out from Loki’s ears. “I’m glad.. I got to hear your voice one last time.. My Astrid.. My love.. I.. love..” His eyes closed and breath gone. The woman’s eyes widened at his words and a wounded cry escaped her throat. He loved her… He had learned to love.

She did not have enough energy to scream as Loki became limp, his grip on her falling away. “Don’t do this!! Loki!! Don’t leave me!! You can’t!! Wake up!! WAKE UP!!” Her voice was hoarse but she used what little energy she had to cry out to him. “Loki.. Please… Don’t go… I love you.” She shut her eyes tightly, her forehead still pressed upon his as she wept. The man she had given her heart to; gone. 

From afar, Thor trembled in the spot he stood. He felt Loki’s energy vanish from his body. The god of thunder turned his attention to Rudolph who was clapping his hands in sick delight. “I expected more of a challenge, Loki!! I thought taking you on would be a bit of a challenge. Turns out Thanos was right after all, you are the god of nothing-” The Commander felt a hard impact and heard something crack within him as Mjolnir slammed across his head. Thunder roared loud, crying out in pain and anger. Thor flew up into the sky, Mjolnir now back in his hand and raised high as beams of lightning collected together. Noting this, Tony flew out of range, not wanting to be zapped to bits. The angered god flew at full speed toward Rudolph and brought Mjolnir down upon the wicked man. Trillions of volts surged through the Commanders body, causing his now useless armor to smoke. “AAAARRGGHHHH!!” Thor roared, swinging the mighty hammer as hard as he could and smashing the chest of Rudolph’s armor. As he did that, Tony flew in and grabbed the bastard while the stone fell from its place and floated in the air. 

Rudolph spat blood in the Billionaires face, grinning sadistically. “I win, Stark. I always will and you know it. She will be dead soon just like her whore of a mother. Ooh I hit a nerve didn’t I?” He gasped out, managing to survive that shock to pull out a hidden blade. Tony could feel forgotten hatred for this man bubble quickly to the surface. “You know she squealed like a pig when I killed her. Elaine cried out for you and sweet little Astrid. I wish you would have seen me kill her, I would have LOVED to see your face when I first stabbed her. How easy it was.. And you can join her too!!” Rudolph barked, using the last of his strength to stab into Tony’s armor before his wicked smirk fell. “No, Rudolph. You won’t be hurting anyone anymore and the devil has a special seat in hell for you, where you belong. This is justice for MY daughter, Astrid and my best friend, her mother, Elaine.” 

The Commanders expression turned into terror as Tony began to fly them over a roaring fire near some gas tanks. “No, no! No!Nonononononononononono!! Please Tony don’t do this!! Please!! Come on, let’s talk about the good old days! I’ll change! Please TONY DON’T KILL ME!!” He grabbed onto his ex friends wrist, his legs kicking wildly. Tony’s mask fell for a moment so he could look at Rudolph in the eyes one last time. “There is redemption for some…” He glanced over at where Loki’s body lay with Astrid still clinging to him and then turned his eyes back to the sick man. “But not for you.” He dropped Rudolph, watching him fall into the flames as he screamed. Tony flew out of the way once Rudolph’s body was engulfed and the impact of his body caused the tanks to rumble to life before exploding. The stone that floated in the air began to vibrate as it’s master had ceased to exist. “Buck!!” Steve threw his shield to Bucky who then launched it at the stone, the edge of the shield shattering it to pieces.

“Loki-” Astrid moaned out, then screeching as she moved her broken arm from it’s sling. She placed her hand over his heart and her eyes began to roll. “Doll? What are you- Oh shit. Astrid!! Astrid don’t! It’s too late!! He’s dead!!” Bucky saw a light pink hue glow from the two on the ground. He knew exactly what she was doing and it was going to kill her. “Stark!! You better get down here now! Astrid’s trying to use her regeneration-” Steve’s hand fell from his ear piece as the light dimmed and faded. Thor watched on with horror, his head bowing in more sorrow. Astrid’s hand fell from Loki’s chest, her eyes shut and body still. “Kid!? KID!?” Tony skid across the ground, a cry escaping him as he knelt beside his dead daughter. “NO!! NO!! NO!! GOD FUCKING DAMN IT!! NO!!” He sobbed in pain. 

He lost Elaine… Now Astrid too… 

“Wait, what’s happening!?” Bucky pointed to the pair in alarm as the blight on Loki’s face began to crawl down his flesh and vanish into his hand, leaving a giant scar on his palm and back of hand. 

_“You have learned… Have overcome your fear in such a selfless way… To love and be loved in return, I give back what has been taken just this once…”_

The Avengers looked around to see where this strange voice was coming from. The storm that once raged, stopped and instead the suns golden rays peaked through the dark clouds down on them all. A blast of warmth cascaded over the team and a golden glow encased Loki and Astrid’s bodies. Color began to return to their faces and breathing steadied, their hearts beating in unison as one. A bond to tie their souls together as they were fated to be. A single red Asgardian rose grew up from the ground, entangling itself between Loki and Astrid’s hands comfortably. “Mother…” Thor whispered under his breath, looking to the sky as he knew those were Friggas favorite and had a beautiful garden full of those. 

Slowly, the god and mortal woman’s eyes opened and they took their first deep breaths together with life anew and as lovers. 


	7. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Y'all know what it's time for. Smut.

It was a long few weeks in the hospital for both Astrid and Loki, both of them anxious to get out and see each other. The God of Mischief had to be held in a different room due to the stone’s contamination in his body. Asgardian medics managed to remove all of the particles from the prince’s body and safely dispose of them. However, Loki would have a very large scar there for the remainder of time; not that he cared, it was just another reminder of that day and an important lesson he had learned. “You still look worse for wear, brother.” Thor grinned, walking into Loki’s room and placing his hands in his pockets. “Like you are any different? You still look like a brainless half wit.” The raven haired god returned the grin to his brother. Thor chuckled, happy to see his brother in better spirits as he sat beside him in a chair. 

“You are to be discharged tomorrow I hear. I cannot imagine the excitement you must be holding to see Lady Astrid.” The blonde winked.

Loki nodded, smiling a bit to himself. “To be quite honest,” He held his right hand up and examined the scar of where the curse used to be, “I did not expect to evade death once again. I am rather lucky given the fact I am the god of mischief and lies.” He mused, turning his attention back to Thor. 

“Yes, it is rather ironic how you of all people have such luck. Death must be quivering in her boots at the nerve you have of being alive.” Thor laughed at the image in his mind. This had Loki thinking about all the times he did escape that eternal fate, but he knew that he could not outrun death forever no matter how fun the little game might be. “Death does come for all in the end. I just did not want to see it end Astrid’s so soon.” Loki’s tone softened, his eyes glimmering as he spoke of the mortal woman. “I could not stop mother’s, in fact I still blame myself for her untimely demise… The least I could do was save Astrid.” Thor’s expression also became soft as he knew how much his younger brother cared for their mother. The god of thunder reached in his jacket pocket, pulling out a perfectly preserved Asgardian rose in an orb and handed it to Loki. “Stark and Banner worked together to make some sort of containment ball for this flower.” He cleared his throat. The younger brother held the orb, staring at it in wonder and awe “Mother’s roses… How? Asgard was destroyed?” Loki looked up, scrunching his brow and he shook his head gently. Thor shrugged and sighed, tapping the orb “When you and Lady Astrid were miraculously being revived, this rose bloomed from the ground and linked your hands together. I think that mother gave it to the both of you as a gift from her to unify you.” 

Loki looked back to the ball and traced it’s smooth curves with his slender fingers. He let out a sort of soft chuckle and smiled to the rose; even Frigga was one to be stubborn with death… Suddenly, Loki winced in pain and looked at Thor, who had given him a very unnecessary hard pat to his back. “What in the 9 realms was that for!?” He frowned. The older brother grinned widely and laughed, “Just because I said you look worse for wear does not mean you are completely crippled! You still have some fight in you!” His laugh was boisterous. Loki growled, his free hand beginning to form one of his daggers. “Indeed I do, brother.” he hissed. “What are you going to do? Stab me?” Thor continued to laugh as Loki reared his arm back to do exactly as Thor said. 

A loud clatter brought their attention to a nurse outside who had dropped her belongings upon seeing the two. “This is not what it looks like!” Loki smiled sheepishly. “Oh this is exactly what it looks like-” Thor had began to argue but felt the dagger stab into his leg, the nurse running off in terror. 

“Now you’ve gone and done it, Loki. Get us both in trouble why don’t you!?” 

“You’re the one that provoked me and attacked first! How am I to blame when I had to perform self defense!?” Oh he was definitely feeling better by how dramatic he was… 

——-

“How are you feeling, sweetie?” Pepper smiled at Astrid, taking her hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. The brunette woman smiled at her adopted mother, “Much better. Loki asked for the Asgardian medics that came here to help me with my broken arm. It’s as good as new! But it is still a bit sore. They instructed me that I’d have to do some muscle exercises for about 2 more weeks before I can start working with this arm again.” She reached over to grab her cup of water. 

“So that means when you get out tomorrow, you and Magic Mike can’t be bumping and grinding till the cows come home.” Astrid spit her water out at Natasha’s sudden entry and sentence. Both her and Peppers faces were beet red out of embarrassment. “N-Nat you don’t need to say that!! You’re lucky Tony wasn’t in here OR Sam. He would have never let that one go.” The brunette muttered, taking a sip of her water. Never in the years that she knew the assassin had she ever heard her speak like that or even make a joke. Astrid always took Natasha for the more serious and no playing around type. “What? I’m not that frigid. I know how to have emotions.” The Black Widow raised a brow as if she had read her mind. 

A quick strange chirp had the women turn their attention to the doorway where Tony stood with a carrier. “Knock, knock? Am I interrupting the tea party? I didn’t see a no boys allowed sign so I’m coming in.” He pulled the door shut behind him and grinned at Astrid who’s eyes were lit up. “I had to pay the receptionist to keep quiet.” He knelt down, opening the cage door to the carrier and a flash of brown zoomed out, launching at Astrid. “KOVU!!” The girl squealed, giggling as her cat purred loudly and meowed of joy. 

‘MAMA!! OH MAMA YOU’RE OK!! I WAS SO WORRIED!! I CRIED EVERY DAY AND NIGHT YOU WEREN’T HOME!!’ Kovu nuzzled his head against her cheek, letting out another loud meow. Astrid wrapped her arms around her pet and gave his fuzzy head a kiss. “I made sure to feed him while you were here, kid but I don’t get why he acts like he’s starving to death. He has plenty of food in his bowl but only eats the middle.” Tony frowned, scratching his beard and giving Kovu a knowing look. ‘That’s because I was starving!! I even had to claw you once to let you know I’d die!! But then you did the trick that mama and Mr. Magician did!’ Kovu’s tail flicked, knowing they couldn’t hear him but still looked back at Tony with his one eye. Astrid laughed and gently mussed the felines head, “He tends to be over dramatic.” She smooched Kovu’s fluffy cheek and laughed again when the cat held his arms out like he wanted a hug. Kovu stopped in mid stretch, his pupil becoming wide as he saw Natasha. ‘Oh, BABY!! Miss Natasha is here!? And Cap ain’t no where in sight… Time to make my move~’ Kovu hopped from Astrid’s arms onto the floor, staring at the assassin, purring loudly. Everyone watched in amusement as the feline was attempting to court Natasha by acting very cute at first but then showing off his flexibility. 

“What is he doing?” The Black Widow chuckled, watching the brown mass of fur in amusement. “I think he likes you.” Astrid commented, entertained by her cat being a show off. ‘Damn! It ain’t workin’! I don’t wanna resort to doing what dogs do but- OI!!’ Kovu started to wiggle as he was picked up by Tony. “Alright, we gotta get back home, big man. Your mom will be home tomorrow so calm your fuzzy ass down.” He placed the whining feline back in the carrier and turned to Astrid, having one last thing to say. “… I still don’t like Rock of Ages.” He started off, earning a groan from all three women in the room. The billionaire quickly held his hands up in defense, “Wait! I’m not done!” He frowned. “After what he did for you though, I can’t say I hate him anymore. He makes you happy, kid. You make him become more tolerable and…” He looked away, clicking his tongue, “Sometimes even pleasant to be around.” He muttered before turning back around, “But I still don’t like ‘em. What I’m trying to say is all his stuff is back at the tower and on his own floor. I’ve had your things moved there too seeing as he’s gonna be a whiny little-… Seeing as he’s smitten with you.” He caught himself. Astrid’s eyes lit up and she almost leapt from her bed to hug her dad, but stopped as she realized she still had IVs in her arm. “Yeah, don’t do that.” Pepper patted her hand as she saw the excitement, gazing fondly as Tony walked over, hugging the both of them. 

———–

Astrid’s back met the wall, her lips and Loki’s unable to separate in a desperate frenzy of passion. Her hands were tangled in his dark locks, moaning into his mouth and pressing her body as close to his as humanly possible. She gasped as he slipped his cock into her awaiting heat for the 12th time that day. Loki gripped her thighs, his large hands hoisting her up to wrap her legs around his waist as he slammed his hips into her. “Say it again.” He growled against her lips, trying to catch his breath from their insatiable kiss. Astrid’s head fell back as his member hit all the spots that made her turn into mush. “I-I love you! Oh God, I love you Loki!” Her fingers yanked on his hair, making him groan. “Again.” He took advantage of her exposed neck, sinking his teeth into her sweet flesh. The prince could not get enough of hearing those words from the mortal girl. “You are _MINE._ As I am yours, my love.” He grit his teeth, feeling his balls tighten up to prepare to shoot his seed inside of her. Loki was not satisfied yet, no. Even after the 12th round, he was not done with her. He waited patiently for her arm to fully heal, and now her body was left to his carnal desires. 

Both of them moaned as Loki came inside of Astrid, the god resting his head against her chest. His cock twitched within her walls and his hard on would not cease. “I am mad for you, my darling.” He carried her to their bed, length still fully seated in her. 

“Loki!” She gasped once her back lay upon the satin sheets, legs placed over his shoulders and his hips began to pump into her wanton pussy again. “I love you, my king! Y-Yes there!! There!!” her hands gripped the sheets, pulling at them. Loki grinned, huffing through his nose and slowing his pace down to lean over the woman beneath him. He drank her whines in with his lips slanted on hers, his tongue playing with hers again. The taste of her tongue had the god drunk and wanting more and more. “Mmm.. You want to cum on your kings cock?” His hand moved between their sweat laden bodies, finding her clit. Astrid yelped softly at his touch, her pants becoming faster from his teasing. “Y-Yes!! Yes! Please! Let me come!! Please!!” She begged, wanting for him to make up for slowing down. Loki chuckled, pressing his lips to her ear “Your poor little clit is so swollen and sensitive…” He pressed down on her ever so slightly, making the girl cry out again. Loki moaned himself as he felt her walls squeeze him tightly, wanting desperately to take his seed. 

“Cum then. Cum little girl, cum all over your kings cock and show him that you are his!” He began to pick up speed with his hips again and circled her clit with his thumb faster. His mouth latched onto her marked neck, sucking another bruise into her abused flesh as she came hard. The Prince’s hand removed itself from Astrid’s clit and found its way up to her breasts. One of his large hands grabbed one of her breasts, kneading it. “Ride me-” He panted against her lips once he was done marking her neck at the moment. Astrid whimpered as she felt Loki pull out of her only to have their positions switched. “I feel so empty without you.” She muttered, making the god chuckle at her comment. His blue green eyes widened slightly as he saw his seed drip out from Astrid’s cunt. “Magnificent…” He panted, grunting a little as he felt the brunette gently take his cock and slip it back inside of her. His eyes rolled in the back of his head from how good she felt. No matter how many times they would make love, the way her walls felt around his length would never change. “You feel so good-” His large hands grabbed for her hips as she began to bounce on his cock. “Oh fuck- Astrid.” He watched from below, his eyes focused on her breasts, the sweat dripping down her body and that face making the most sinful expression. 

Loki began to thrust his hips upward, wanting more friction. Astrid’s lips parted, gasping in surprise from his added movement. “F-Fuck!! Loki!” She threw her head back, holding onto his legs for support as she moved with him. The way her legs spread gave Loki a show at his cock slipping in and out of her drenched quim. The raven haired mans eyes wandered over her form again, imagining a scenario that he had always dreamt of but kept secret. He wanted to see her on top of him, belly round with their child and breasts swollen from milk. The thought alone had him biting his lower lip hard, and hips moving harder. “Loki!!” She squeaked at how rough he moved all of a sudden. She fell forward, her long hair curtaining around them. Astrid leaned down, pressing her breasts on his chest and kissing him deeply. She whimpered into his mouth as she felt his hand come down on her ass, smacking the damp flesh. 

Her back was on the sheets again and hair splayed around her head. Loki’s arms trapped her beneath his long form but his hips not relenting. “Say you love me again.” He whined against her cheek, hungry for assurance. “Tell me you love me please.” He pressed his forehead against hers, his gaze pooling into hers. Astrid arched her back, her damp body pressing against his and kiss swollen lips parted “I love you! I love you so much, Loki. Baby, I love you so much.” Tears slid from her lust blown eyes. She couldn’t handle much more as exhaustion began to take her in it’s grasp. Astrid noticed that Loki wasn’t too far behind her either as they had been going at it all day. “And I you, my little songbird.. My sweet girl, my queen, m-my pet!” He was close and moved his hips as hard and fast as he could, feeling her wrap her legs around him. “You are mine. I am yours.” Loki grit his teeth, his impending release ready to blow. “You are mine. I am yours-” Astrid repeated back, locking her hands in his. Both of their jaws dropped as their orgasms hit them hard. Neither of them could produce sounds as they were reduced to shaking messes. The princes hips stuttered, his thrusts becoming sloppy as he shot the last of his load into her womb. Their bodies trembled hard from climaxing together and had them seeing stars. 

Loki fell on top of Astrid, careful not to hurt her. “I love you so much…” He panted against her chest, smiling weakly as he was so spent. “You love me..” He giggled as if drunk and moved his head slightly to press a kiss to her collarbone. “I do. I love you with all of the heart I gave you.” Astrid kissed his sweaty hair, her fingers gently dragging up and down his scarred back. Cautiously, and much to his dismay, Loki pulled his now soft member out of her and stared dumbstruck at how much of his cum spilled out of her. “I guess that is what fucking all day does. I like it. It means that I’ve claimed you.” He grinned lazily up at his beloved, laying back down where he previously was. “I wouldn’t have it any other way, my king.” The brunette giggled, her eyes heavy and body begging for rest. She knew she would be feeling this in the morning… 

“Astrid.” 

“Mm?”

“This battle is not yet over and now that you are mine… I am afraid that Thanos will eventually find out and use you against me.” He glanced up, eyes gleaming with determination. “I will not let him touch you. I will do everything in my power to keep you safe. You are mine and mine alone. I will protect you until my-” He stopped as Astrid shushed him with a kiss to his head. “I know you will protect me and that I am yours… I have always been yours- L-Loki?!” She felt something poke her inner thigh as the prince had become hard again. He grinned mischievously and grabbed his member, sliding it up and down her sore cunt. “Just let me show you how you are mine~” 

Again and again, the two made love until the sun rose to greet the day. Astrid was wrapped tightly in Loki’s arms, her head resting against his chest. She had never felt more safe than when in she lay in his arms and Loki could now rest a bit more easy knowing that he truly was not alone. 


End file.
